Can an Employer Give a Bad Reference in South Africa?
What exactly is employment?
Employment is a contract between an employer and an employee under which the employee agrees to perform certain services.
What are the types of employment?
1. Full-time employment
2. Part-time employment
3. Casual employment
4. Contract employment
5. Apprenticeship
6. Traineeship
7. Employment on commission/ piece rate employment
8. Probation
Who is an employer?
An employer is defined as a person or organisation in the government, private, nonprofit, or business sectors that hires and compensates people for their work.
Who is an employer?
An employee is someone who is hired by another person or company to execute a service or set of tasks.
What exactly is an employment reference?
Employment references are letters or documents that provide a prospective employer with information about a job candidate.
Can an employee ask for reference from an ex- employer?
Section 42 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) states that upon termination of employment, employees are entitled to a certificate of service/reference.
Can an employer give a bad reference in South Africa?
Employers can certainly provide negative employment references for previous employees for any reason. There is no framework or code in South Africa that specifically regulates employer references.
What should negative references include?
The negative references must be true and accurate, relevant to the purpose – that is, they must relate to the person’s job performance – and must not contain personal information that is unrelated to work performance.
Can I sue my former employer for giving bad references?
If an employer makes negative comments about you when you contact them for an employment reference, you may be able to sue them for defamation if the information provided was false.
Should I list my former employer as a reference if we parted ways amicably?
If you resign on bad terms, it is best to use coworkers or colleagues from another department as references rather than your former employer.
