Comments on: Database craziness – it’s not just the government http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/archives/1516 Freelance writer Gary Marshall on technology, music, Macs and more Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:25:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Squander Two http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/archives/1516/comment-page-1#comment-11819 Squander Two Sun, 11 May 2008 11:49:34 +0000 http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/?p=1516#comment-11819 <i>> I was under the impression that employers were only allowed to give factual references and that giving a bad reference without any evidence was illegal under employment law</i> I thought it wasn't that it's illegal per se, more that it leaves the firm wide open for a civil suit. <i>> presumably you could use an access request to see what’s on the database about you?</i> Definitely. Unlike the Government, these firms are covered by the Data Protection Act. So, yeah, there's access requests, but isn't there also something about not being allowed to use that information for a purpose other than that for which it was originally gathered? So they'll be adding disclaimers to that effect to new employment contracts, I'm sure, but that won't cover existing contracts. > I was under the impression that employers were only allowed to give factual references and that giving a bad reference without any evidence was illegal under employment law

I thought it wasn’t that it’s illegal per se, more that it leaves the firm wide open for a civil suit.

> presumably you could use an access request to see what’s on the database about you?

Definitely. Unlike the Government, these firms are covered by the Data Protection Act. So, yeah, there’s access requests, but isn’t there also something about not being allowed to use that information for a purpose other than that for which it was originally gathered? So they’ll be adding disclaimers to that effect to new employment contracts, I’m sure, but that won’t cover existing contracts.

]]> By: mupwangle http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/archives/1516/comment-page-1#comment-11818 mupwangle Sat, 10 May 2008 09:52:12 +0000 http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/?p=1516#comment-11818 Yeah, but that would only occur to you if you got turned down for lots of jobs for no apparent reason. Yeah, but that would only occur to you if you got turned down for lots of jobs for no apparent reason.

]]> By: Gary http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/archives/1516/comment-page-1#comment-11817 Gary Sat, 10 May 2008 09:10:55 +0000 http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/?p=1516#comment-11817 Yeah, I thought the same thing. Not entirely sure what the legal situation is; presumably you could use an access request to see what's on the database about you? Yeah, I thought the same thing. Not entirely sure what the legal situation is; presumably you could use an access request to see what’s on the database about you?

]]> By: mupwangle http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/archives/1516/comment-page-1#comment-11814 mupwangle Fri, 09 May 2008 17:29:12 +0000 http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/?p=1516#comment-11814 I was under the impression that employers were only allowed to give factual references and that giving a bad reference without any evidence was illegal under employment law (this was advice I was given when a manager told me he would give me a bad reference just cos he didn't like me - this was confirmed by the company's HR). Surely this is the same thing? I was under the impression that employers were only allowed to give factual references and that giving a bad reference without any evidence was illegal under employment law (this was advice I was given when a manager told me he would give me a bad reference just cos he didn’t like me – this was confirmed by the company’s HR). Surely this is the same thing?

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