My employer refuses to give me a satisfactory reference, what should I do?

The law relating to the provision of references is developing and somewhat confusing. A conventional view is that your current employer is not legally required to provide a reference to your new employer.

However, there may be an implied duty, especially where it is customary to supply a reference in a particular industry or for particular types of employee. In addition it is now clear that failure to provide a reference as a form of retaliation, for example because an employee has brought, or threatened to bring, a sex, race or other discrimination claim against the employer, may be victimization and thus lead to an award against the employer under discrimination law.

Where a reference is given the employer has an implied duty of care to both the former employee and the prospective employer. The reference must be accurate and compiled with care. , You may be able to bring a civil case for negligence if you suffer damage as a result of an inaccurate reference (e.g. the reference causes a job offer to be withdrawn).

However, where a reference is provided, your employer also has a duty of care to provide relevant, accurate information to the prospective employer, even if such information is unfavourable to you. .