Can My Employer Give Me a Bad Reference?

Yes, if the reference is true, accurate and fair. Your employer can include facts that reflect badly on you, such as the reason you left or a current disciplinary warning. Your employer cannot give a reference that is misleading, inaccurate or discriminatory, and cannot give a worse reference because you complained of discrimination.

There is no general duty to give a reference

Most employers have no legal duty to give a reference. ACAS lists three exceptions: where your employer has agreed in writing to give one, for example in your contract or a settlement agreement; where the role is a regulated financial services job overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority; and where another agreement requires it. Some other regulated sectors have separate rules on references.

Many employers give a short reference confirming only your job title and dates of employment. A short reference of that kind is not a bad reference.

What a reference must be

If your employer gives a reference, the common law says it owes you a duty of care to make it true, accurate and fair. It must not be misleading. Opinions about your performance or conduct must be supported by evidence. A reference can be misleading even where each sentence is true, if the overall picture it gives is unfair.

What a reference can include

A reference can state why you left, including that you were dismissed. It can include current and relevant disciplinary records. ACAS advises that older or irrelevant disciplinary matters and investigations should be left out. Your employer must follow the Equality Act 2010 when writing a reference, so it must not refer to your sickness absence linked to a disability, your pregnancy or another characteristic covered by the Act in a way that amounts to discrimination.

Victimisation

Under section 27 of the Equality Act 2010, it is victimisation to treat you badly because you made a discrimination complaint, gave evidence in someone else's complaint, or alleged a breach of the Act. A reference that is worse because you raised a discrimination grievance or brought a tribunal claim is victimisation. This applies to references given after your employment has ended.

Seeing and challenging your reference

You can ask to see a reference by making a subject access request under the UK GDPR, either to the employer who wrote it or to the employer who received it. Make the request in writing. The Data Protection Act 2018 contains an exemption for confidential references. The ICO states that this exemption applies whether the organisation gave or received the reference, so either employer may refuse to disclose a reference given in confidence. A reference not given in confidence is not covered by the exemption, and an employer can still choose to disclose a confidential one.

If a misleading or inaccurate reference caused you a loss, such as a withdrawn job offer, you may bring a claim in the county court in England and Wales or the sheriff court in Scotland. If the reference was discriminatory or an act of victimisation, the claim goes to an employment tribunal. You cannot bring both claims about the same issue.

An example

A finance administrator with five years of service raised a race discrimination grievance, then resigned. Her new employer withdrew its job offer after her former employer's reference described her as unreliable. She had no warnings and no recorded concerns about her reliability. The opinion has no evidence behind it, so the reference is not accurate or fair. If the timing and wording show it was written because of her grievance, it may also be victimisation under section 27 of the Equality Act 2010.

What to do next

1. Ask the new employer, in writing, what concerns the reference raised.
2. Make a subject access request to both employers and keep a copy.
3. Gather evidence that answers the reference, such as appraisals, emails and your disciplinary record.
4. Offer the new employer another referee, or a probationary period.
5. Act within the time limit. Acas states that time limits for employment tribunal claims increased from 3 months to 6 months on 1 October 2026. The 3 month limit may still apply to problems that started before 1 October 2026. Check your deadline early and seek advice. Court claims have different time limits, so take advice early.

A bad reference is lawful only when it is true, accurate and fair. Keep every message about the withdrawn offer.

Frances N.U