I have been asked to write a recommendation letter

[abhijit]

for someone I knew in 2004.

Would it be alright to mention, the person has an unhealthy fear of coming to work on time?

[MasterBlaster]

for someone I knew in 2004.

Would it be alright to mention, the person has an unhealthy fear of coming to work on time?

Yes, it is expected that you mention a persons faults as well as their strengths in a letter of recomendation. If all you do is blow smoke up their arse, they're not going to take the letter seriously.

I would re-word the negative part of you assesment a little bit though.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

Hmm, be careful !!

If this could be considered a reference i know in the UK that a number of companies have been sued for very large sums of money for giving negative references. You can say factual sentences like ' the employee had an 80% Attendance record' if this is backed up by the companies HR records, but saying things like 'the employee is a lazy git who doesn't turn up on time' is not good.

I am not sure what the Law is in the US but i would have thought it would be worth checking first.

There was 1 guy who came to work for a company i used to work for and his previous Job had been with Bupa (major Private Health Care company) and the reference that he got from them basically said

We Confirm that X person worked for Bupa between the dates x and x !

Seriously that was it, a whole page with just the 1 sentence on it, apparently they had been sued by a former employee to whom they gave a negative reference and now they only give out standard references stating the dates previous employees worked there.

[Hack]

In addition, I would let the person who asked for the letter see it before I sent it to however I'm supposed to send it.

[FunkyDexter]

Don't know about the US but in the UK the answer is a resounding no. Over here all your really allowed to put in a reference is dates of employment and salary. You can actually be sued for defamation if you write anything other than that - though I've never heard of anyone doing so.



edit>Wow, seriosly simultaneous submissions

[abhijit]

In addition, I would let the person who asked for the letter see it before I sent it to however I'm supposed to send it.

That I have every intention of doing.

I do not represent my company.

[MasterBlaster]

In addition, I would let the person who asked for the letter see it before I sent it to however I'm supposed to send it.

WOAHHH, never send it to anyone other than the coworker former/coworker who requested it.

You guys are confusing recommendation letters and employment history requests. Two totally different cans of worms.

[EntityX]

Sometimes it's ok to mix two totally different cans of worms and then eat them together.

[JuggaloBrotha]

Sometimes it's ok to mix two totally different cans of worms and then eat them together.

Only if you're fishing and you only eat the end result.

[penagate]

My understanding is that defamatory statements must be not only harmful but false. If the person had a fondness for turning up to work in the nip and singing Kumbaya, saying so is hardly defamation. It will probably hurt their chances of being employed (unless they're applying to join PETA) but that is their own fault.

However, making any negative comment at all exposes you to the risk of being sued, whether your comment can be proven to be false or not. And you won't win any friends.

So I question the worth of mentioning this person's tardiness. Perhaps you should invoke the maxim, "If you have nothing good to say, say nothing." In the case of a recommendation letter, saying nothing in fact says quite a lot.

[wossname]

If you feel it is unavoidable to say "negative" things about someone (the truth can not logically be regarded as negative, but you know what I mean) then you MUST consider your wording very carefully.

Provide documentary evidence and statistics (to use the poor punctuality example, say things like "over the x days between y and z, Mr C Norris was late for work by at least m minutes on o occasions, despite several verbal warnings. Mr Norris' excuses were stated as 'having too many jerks to roundhouse kick in the face' on the way to work". You get the idea.

In other words don't say anything you can't prove in court. The best thing to do is tell the guy to take a hike and go work at KFC. Although saying that to Chuck Norris is likely to make him late for his interview.

[Harsh Gupta]

Is this suing thing also applies on ex-employer, like Project Manager, Director or any similar Authoritative personnel?

Yes, I am serious. Before coming to LA, my employer (or ex-employer) employed every trick to harass me. They even didn't give me 3 months salary! Had I got the chance, I would have sued them.

But now if, in future, I need to specify their name for reference or background check, and in case they put me/my name/my work in wrong note, can I sue them?

[AsmIscool]

The fact that you are asking this makes me think that the person in question has a screw loose anyway. Who asks anybody for a reference if you are not sure they will give you a glowing recommendation?

I never understood why people bother asking for references given that mine are very carefully chosen. Not to mention they all put me down as their reference so they had better say nice things or it will come back to bite them.

[abhijit]

Is this suing thing also applies on ex-employer, like Project Manager, Director or any similar Authoritative personnel?

Yes, I am serious. Before coming to LA, my employer (or ex-employer) employed every trick to harass me. They even didn't give me 3 months salary! Had I got the chance, I would have sued them.

But now if, in future, I need to specify their name for reference or background check, and in case they put me/my name/my work in wrong note, can I sue them?

Those are reasonable grounds to sue them.

[visualAd]

Hmm, be careful !!

If this could be considered a reference i know in the UK that a number of companies have been sued for very large sums of money for giving negative references. You can say factual sentences like ' the employee had an 80% Attendance record' if this is backed up by the companies HR records, but saying things like 'the employee is a lazy git who doesn't turn up on time' is not good.

I am not sure what the Law is in the US but i would have thought it would be worth checking first.

There was 1 guy who came to work for a company i used to work for and his previous Job had been with Bupa (major Private Health Care company) and the reference that he got from them basically said

We Confirm that X person worked for Bupa between the dates x and x !

Seriously that was it, a whole page with just the 1 sentence on it, apparently they had been sued by a former employee to whom they gave a negative reference and now they only give out standard references stating the dates previous employees worked there.

In the UK an employer is not legally obliged to provide a reference. When provided, while opinions can be given, their subjective nature can open the employer to risk of litigation so they often focus on the facts.

There are certain exceptions to this. For example, if you are working for the security services the employer may be required to give an extended reference. I believe that the medical profession and education may be the same.

[InvisibleDuncan]

The fact that you are asking this makes me think that the person in question has a screw loose anyway. Who asks anybody for a reference if you are not sure they will give you a glowing recommendation?

I never understood why people bother asking for references given that mine are very carefully chosen. Not to mention they all put me down as their reference so they had better say nice things or it will come back to bite them.

It's not always possible to avoid it. There are plenty of prosepctive employers who will ask for permission to contact any of your previous employers rather than ask for explicitly chosen references. If you don't give permission, they'll simply draw their own conclusions from that.

[Shaggy Hiker]

In the US, at least in our case, we have been instructed that if we are called for a reference for any past employee, we should only confirm that they did work for us. However, the employee can sign a letter letting us give a reference, and most do. On the other hand, at least over the phone, references can be VERY informative without saying anything. The lady who laughed, then said, "I'll just tell you that the person did work for us.", actually told us all we wanted to know.