Employer Policy Promotes A Catch-22

[ICB2150]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

My 'fact finding' hearing held by the unemployment ajudicator was resolved; I was found eligible for UI benefits. This positive finding was based on the Employer withdrawing their appeal against my UI claim.

My problem now is that my prior Human Resources department can only verify employment dates and wages. I was also told by my supervisor via email that "employees are not able to provide individual references" for former employees. Which is me!

I currently have a job offer based on my submitted resume, but they want a supervisory reference from my prior employer.

Do you see the Catch-22? What's the workaround for this perdicament?

Waiting anxiously for all advisements.

I am overwhelmed and clueless on how to work around this dilemma.

 

[Zigner]

You cannot force an employer (or a former employer) to give you a reference.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

My 'fact finding' hearing held by the unemployment ajudicator was resolved; I was found eligible for UI benefits. This positive finding was based on the Employer withdrawing their appeal against my UI claim.

My problem now is that my prior Human Resources department can only verify employment dates and wages. I was also told by my supervisor via email that "employees are not able to provide individual references" for former employees. Which is me!

I currently have a job offer based on my submitted resume, but they want a supervisory reference from my prior employer.

Do you see the Catch-22? What's the workaround for this perdicament?

Waiting anxiously for all advisements.

I am overwhelmed and clueless on how to work around this dilemma.

Many employers have a policy against current employees providing references for former employees. In fact, in this day and age, a lot of companies will give out very little information about a former employee, which is often limited to verification that they worked there, the dates of their employment, their position/title, and whether or not they would be eligible for re-hire.

As Zig says, you can't force the former supervisor to go against company policy and provide you the reference your potential employer is requesting.

If you were fired from your previous job, and you told your potential employer about the circumstances leading up to the termination, then their requirement for the supervisor reference might be their way of determining whether or not there were sufficient grounds for the termination and whether or not hiring you in the new position would be worth the risk.

If you can't somehow convince your former supervisor to go against their company policy (thereby putting them at risk of termination themselves), and the potential employer won't budge on their reference requirement, then it looks like you won't be getting that job. Better start looking elsewhere.

 

[justalayman]

easy solution:

tell the prospective employer that employees of your former employer are not allowed to provide references for former employees and you would never want to suggest anybody act contrary to company policy...

after all, that would be suggesting a person be disloyal to their employer and you surely believe that all good employees should be loyal to their employers.

 

[ICB2150]

Thanks for the quick response and the enclosed sarcastic quotes were entertaining. I worked for this company 5 years and this policy regarding references is nowhere to be found. As a matter of fact, I'm in contact with ex-employers who have received references from supervisors and the prior Human Resource department. I am beginning to think I'm being handled differently, because I won the UI claim with an attorney assigned to my UI claim. What is your uptake on this situation?

 

[ShyCat]

The answer is unchanged: You cannot force an employer (or a former employer) to give you a reference.

 

[startedone]

You can provide your supv. contact info .... what harm can it do? Once you are no longer an employee , you are no longer bound by their rules unless a written contract states otherwise.

 

[cbg]

Of course he can provide the supervisor info - but he can't force the supervisor to respond.

 

[startedone]

Of course he can provide the supervisor info - but he can't force the supervisor to respond.

Well if he picks up the phone he may say its company policy ... and that will suffice to his new prospective employer.