Referees - dish the dirt
I get many emails from people wondering if a former boss is sticking the knife in when a reference checker gives him or her a call.
Is it paranoia or could it be happening? First, you have to provide permission for your referees to be contacted. It does not have to be written permission and a broadly-worded question could be used to cover both referees listed on your resume and the HR office of former employers not nominated by you.
Under the Privacy Act you are entitled to for details of any reference check carried out on you. To access records held on you, you will need to follow the process outlined in a recruiter or employer’s policy. Many recruiters post their privacy policy on their website.
For example, Michael Page Australia and Kelly Services make it easy by putting a link to “Privacy Policy” at the bottom of their home pages. On some sites I couldn’t find the Privacy Policy. In such cases call the recruitment firm and ask to speak to the Privacy Officer.
At a direct employer, try the HR manager who interviewed you. How quickly a company responds is usually covered in their privacy policy. If you get the job, it appears employers do not have to share reference info with you.
For more detail visit www.privacy.gov.au and click on “Publications” then “I” (for information), then “Information Sheet 12” (scroll down to the middle). You can also apply to have any records about you corrected if the information held is “proven” to be wrong. I’ve gone to great pains to find accurate details but am always happy to hear from anyone with more on this subject.
The CEO of the Recruitment & Consulting Services Association, Julie Mills, also has some advice about accessing those notes. First up, Julie confirms that there is no set time within which a recruiter has to respond to your request for information.
She points to the Privacy Commission’s website: “In most cases you can expect to be given access to information about you within 30 days, and sooner if possible, however there is no time frame set out in the Privacy Act.”
It also says that an organisation must not charge you to make a request to access information it holds about you but it may charge “a reasonable fee” to provide you with the information. That sounds spooky. You better have a read yourselves - Privacy FAQs
Also, apparently ‘access’ doesn’t necessarily mean copies of the information but rather the ability to view it. The Privacy Act also warns that, “An appropriate time to take for an organisation to respond to an individual’s request for access will be influenced by various factors.
These may include the method of communication, the type or amount of personal information requested, how the personal information is held, how complex an organisation’s functions and activities are and how the personal information is to be provided to the individual making the request.” It goes on to give some time frames.
A written request made of a large organisation should be acknowledged with 14 days. Access should be granted within 14 to 30 days. Wow, not so simple really. I would love to hear from anyone who has successfully viewed notes made about them!
For more useful tips read the other stories in the Job Hunting Advice section and Ask Kate Column.
