7th July 2005, 09:35 AM
When digging, I always kept my CV up to date with four references, pretty much for exactly the reasons Lucy outlines. I knew that recruitment practices were dodgy, but I also knew that project mangers & unit directors would talk in the pub and over the 'phone, the same as the site workers do. The whole area of whether or not to employ someone can be answered, and often is answered (rightly or wrongly) by one question - "is he/she any good"? Quite important I suppose - especially when it's a Wednesday, and you're trying to get someone for the following Monday. It isn't good practice, and I suspect it's dubious legally, but I'm sure many of us have got jobs this way in the past, and will probably do so again. I doubt that it's a practice which is unknown in other industries either - the construction industry is probably similar, and it's not that far removed from the well-known practice of "headhunting", which I'm sure we've all heard of. Personally, I wasn't that bothered about sticking a whole bunch of referees on to be honest, and always asked employers when I moved on if it was ok to add them to the list.
I'm interested in the statutory dismissal proceedure Mercenary - any chance of a link so we can all have a look?
I'm interested in the statutory dismissal proceedure Mercenary - any chance of a link so we can all have a look?