Help with bogus claim against a company.

[MissFM]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

This is how you gave her a claim....."howevere since we were not 100% sure if the allegation was genuine we decided to retract a previous reference that we made for her for a future job. we retracted with "pending a police investigation"

I absolutely agree with you, Mariefab

howevere since we were not 100% sure if the allegation was genuine we decided to retract a previous reference that we made for her for a future job. we retracted with "pending a police investigation". her solicitor's letter is claiming this is protected discolosure and sexual discrimination as she is a woman, that she is being penalised for reporting the incident to the police. as mentioned above this claim is completely un true as we have evidence to show our support for the complaint and dealing with the police but can the solicitor really use the retracted reference letter as proof of her suffering detriment at work?"

Yes, IMVHO. That was a big mistake. It's hard to understand why you did that (?)

[charitynjw]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

Within the relationship between an employer & employee, there exists a duty of care.

A negative reference, even if true, can be misleading (ie, in the instant case, there does appear to be a police investigation pending; however, without more info, this could be seen in a very damning light).

One of the reasons an ex-employer would sooner provide a neutral reference is that they wouldn't want to fall foul of negligent misstatement, which is a tort especially aligned to the duty of care, & can be used to sue the statement maker.
The authority seems to be Hedley Byrne v Heller.
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1963/4.html

[Nem]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@Miss FM we did it (retracted the reference) because we were not 100% sure the claim was genuine, we retracted it "pending" the outcome of the investigation. we took a view not to provide a reference while the investigation is on going, why do you consider that a big mistake?

[Nem]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@charitynjw we didnt provide a negative reference we simply didn't want to take sides while the facts (police investigation) were clear. we didnt want to provide a reference in case the claim of sexual harassment was found to be false by the police, in case it was found to be genuine we would proceed with a positive reference, hence the "pending investigation" clause in our refrence retraction letter. we safe guarded her interests at work (worked with police) but when the third pary was involved (the new job reference) we though best to wait for the outcome of the police. isnt that the right thing to do?

[MissFM]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@Miss FM we did it (retracted the reference) because we were not 100% sure the claim was genuine, we retracted it "pending" the outcome of the investigation. we took a view not to provide a reference while the investigation is on going, why do you consider that a big mistake?

I think Chaz has explained much better than I did, Nem.

Sexual harassment, with no witnesses, is notoriously difficult to prove and deeply humiliating for the victim - even if others see it as "minor" touching. Whether it happened or not, by withdrawing your unqualified support as employers and withdrawing her reference with that paticular explanation - well, if it were me I would be spitting.

I think that she would have no case against you at all if you hadn't done that - whereas now she does..... that's why I think it was a serious mistake but it's just my opinion. x:tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[charitynjw]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@charitynjw we didnt provide a negative reference we simply didn't want to take sides while the facts (police investigation) were clear. we didnt want to provide a reference in case the claim of sexual harassment was found to be false by the police, in case it was found to be genuine we would proceed with a positive reference, hence the "pending investigation" clause in our refrence retraction letter. we safe guarded her interests at work (worked with police) but when the third pary was involved (the new job reference) we though best to wait for the outcome of the police. isnt that the right thing to do?

If the letter was meant for her exclusive viewing, & not for a wider audience, then there cannot be any defamatory statement (that would require being broadcast to at least one other person).
Should she wish to divulge the info to others, & it appears not to be harassment or discriminatory,you can't be held accountable for that.

[Nem]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@MissFm ok I see your point but that's not the case, she did have support from us in every way (dealing with police, supporting her personnaly, time off etc) but when it came to a reference to an external party we didnt want to take the risk in case the claim was not true, thats not to say we didnt believe her just that we wanted to hold back from supplying a reference to an external party while (so not indefinately) the investigation was inconclusive. imagine if we had provided a positive reference only to realise once the investigation was complete that it was false?

[MissFM]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@MissFm ok I see your point but that's not the case, she did have support from us in every way (dealing with police, supporting her personnaly, time off etc) but when it came to a reference to an external party we didnt want to take the risk in case the claim was not true, thats not to say we didnt believe her just that we wanted to hold back from supplying a reference to an external party while (so not indefinately) the investigation was inconclusive. imagine if we had provided a positive reference only to realise once the investigation was complete that it was false?

If the letter was meant for her exclusive viewing, & not for a wider audience, then there cannot be any defamatory statement (that would require being broadcast to at least one other person).
Should she wish to divulge the info to others, & it appears not to be harassment or discriminatory,you can't be held accountable for that.

Was it for her exclusive viewing, Nem?

(If it was I misunderstood, sorry).

Another personal opinion, though, is that no investigation, police or otherwise, will ever prove things either way - how could it?:noidea:

[Nem]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

it was to her and the company we were retracting the reference from

[Nem]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

to substaniate our reason why we retracted the reference letter. the person who is alleged to have sexually harassed the girl is a friend of a friend who claimed there was no such thing. further witnesses came forward to claim no sexual harassment took place...so you see we were stuck in the middle, her telling us yes it did happen and others telling us no it did not. the answer for us was to leave it to the police and provide refrences once we had a genuine official conclusion. as we had a duty of care we supported her claim and did our best to work with the police for which we also have evidence.

[charitynjw]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedicti...representation

[MissFM]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

it was to her and the company we were retracting the reference from

Uh-oh. I think that's what her solicitor is driving at with "protected disclosure" etc..

[Nem]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@missFM ..can you explain in more detail please? thanks

[MissFM]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

@missFM ..can you explain in more detail please? thanks

Charity has explained the legal implications better than I could in posts 32 & 36.

Anything other than a completely positive (or bland) reference invites speculation - the letter saying that a reference is withdrawn "pending the result of a police investigation" invites wild imaginings; it would be naive to think that a future employer would not see it as the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg, whether that were intended ot not.:gossip:

Your employee could be forgiven for thinking that you disbelieve her, or have another agenda, enough to damage her future employment prospects - again, regardless of your intention.

Her case against you as employer is not about the alleged harassment, whether it happened or not, but about the letter retracting her reference.

That's just my opinion, though.:tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[mariefab]

Re: Help with bogus claim against a company.

You provided a reference.....She made a protected disclosure......For a reason relating to the disclosure you retracted the reference........You thereby subjected her to a detriment (and gave her a claim against you).