An employee was suspended, but complained of race discrimination. A settlement was reached. When applying for another job, the reference given mentioned only one side of the dispute.
Held: A reference had to be viewed as a whole, and to be seen to be fair, but that in this case it was. The claimant had himself contrived the state of affairs leaving the absence of any adjudication of the complaint against him.
Robert Walker LJ discussed Spring, observing, having regard to the nature of the reference in that case, that there was: ‘understandably hardly any discussion of any question of nuances or, as it might be put in terms of defamation law, innuendo which might stop a reference, while factually correct so far as it went, from being unfair.’ Citing Lord Goff and Lord Woolf, he noted that almost any reference would consist of: ‘opinion based on facts, some of which are capable of more or less precise and objective measurement and others of which depend on much more subjective perceptions.’
He assumed that Hackney had a duty to give a true, fair and accurate reference, noting that: ‘the libel cases seem to me to serve as a salutary reminder that the fairness or unfairness, the accuracy or inaccuracy, and, indeed, truth or falsity of a statement have to be taken in the round and in context and cannot be in every case dissected into a number of discrete parts.’
He then asked as to what Hackney was to do in order to fulfil its duty to provide a fair reference to Mr Bartholomew without being unfair or misleading to the recipient. He concluded that had it omitted all reference to suspension and disciplinary inquiry it might well have considered itself as failing in its civic duty to other local authorities, even though the charges were unproven. Recognizing that a reference was not given unfair or misleading impression overall, even if discreet components were factually correct, he did not consider it need to be full and comprehensive or that this particular reference constituted a breach of Hackney’s duty of care to Mr Bartholomew.
Judges:
Butler-Sloss, Robert Walker LJJ
Citations:
Gazette 19-May-1999, [1998] EWCA Civ 1604, [1999] IRLR 246
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Spring v Guardian Assurance Plc and Others HL 7-Jul-1994
The plaintiff, who worked in financial services, complained of the terms of the reference given by his former employer. Having spoken of his behaviour towards members of the team, it went on: ‘his former superior has further stated he is a man of . .
Cited by:
Distinguished – Jackson v Liverpool City Council CA 15-Jun-2011
Having left the defendant with a satisfactory reference, on moving jobs again a further reference was requested, but given this time in terms which the claimant said was defamatory, as to his record-keeping.
Held: The Council’s appeal was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 25 November 2022; Ref: scu.145083