Handling a Negative Reference: How to Address Discrepancies with Past Employers

How do you deal with a past employer reference that says "the employee did not disengage properly"? The reason for leaving is different from what the employee stated during the interview.

Regards,
Kenny

Generally, when we ask a previous employer about the credentials of their ex-employee, they may respond as you are quoting now. First of all, we have to check whether the date of joining, date of relieving, and salary drawn by the ex-employee during their tenure with the previous employer are correct. We need not worry about other minor reasons. This is because during the interview, you have already assessed their skills and suitability for the job, and the reference is just a final check on the selected employee.

Except for professionally managed companies in India, traditional management firms may not provide accurate references for their ex-employees due to various reasons. Therefore, we cannot rely one hundred percent on the references from ex-employers regarding the ex-employees we have selected to meet our requirements.

Regards

Point noted. However, there are discrepancies in the date of joining and salary from both the past employer and the employee; the two gave different information.

Regards,
Kenny

In such a case, you can directly ask the selected person to explain the reasons for the discrepancies regarding his date of joining and salary. If you are satisfied with his reasons, you have the following options:

1. You can go ahead with issuing him an appointment order as per the terms agreed upon by both management and the candidate.
2. Negotiate with the candidate for a lower salary/designation by considering his actual designation and salary at the time of leaving the services of his previous employer company.
3. Withdraw the offer letter by citing the candidate's act of concealing facts regarding his salary and date of joining during his tenure with the previous employer.

Regards.

Understanding "Employee Did Not Disengage Properly"

It is better to understand at the first instance the meaning of the term 'employee did not disengage properly'. My understanding is that the employee did not serve the notice period or remit notice pay in lieu of the notice period not served. Hence, the employer has not issued a relieving order to the employee. If this is the case, do not issue an offer of appointment to the person or allow him to join service if an offer has been issued to him unless he has settled his dues with the previous employer and secured a proper relieving order from them.

Some HR managers may argue that proper settlement of dues by the new employee with his previous employer may not be their concern, but it has to be viewed from an ethical perspective. We need to remember that the same employee can do the same thing with you too at a later date.

Thanks.
G. Hari

Agreed that the opportunity for discussion and explanation should be provided to the employee. If false, fake, or fabricated information is given, don't recruit the employee.

Appointment Letter and Service Certificate

The labor laws, statutes, and enactments do mention the Appointment Letter and 'Service Certificate', with a prescribed form to be issued to all employees. The Service Card of employees has a column for commendations, but not for negative remarks.

Relieving Letter

A Relieving Letter signifies that the employee has settled all legitimate accounts, such as company property.

The comment in the Background Verification (BGV) is unclear as it does not mention the specific charge.

Notice Period and Employment Conditions

Assuming there was a notice period of 90 days for the employee and 30 days for the employer, which is arbitrary or discriminatory, or if intolerable conditions were created for the employee, or some vindictive or zealous line management or HR inserted comments to cause damage, then the next employer is falling prey to hearsay, gossip, or rumor.

The designated HR personnel could have issued and supplied the correct Full and Final (FnF) statement, adjusted notice pay, and demanded or paid the balance.

If a 90-day notice period is not applicable, then why should it be inserted in the appointment letter and enforced?

If the employee is aware and declines to serve the inapplicable notice period, then they shouldn't be penalized.

Background Verification Agency

Assuming that the BGV agency has not acquired information properly and can't prove it, then it has no right to be paid.

The employer should assess properly, and if the old company's Line Managers, HR, or third-party vendor that conducted BGV hasn't acted properly, blacklist them in internal records and appoint this employee. He will appreciate and deliver results for you.