Can new employer know about previous dismissal?

[Wlosty 1]

Situation: my wife is working for a company on a temporary contract. There is a conflict about current working conditions and she is thinking whether to push the employer further. They can terminate the contract practically without a reason and that's fine. We are worried about her reputation when she will be looking for another employment. (reputation is supposedly very important in her industry)

 

Question: can a future employer know about the fact that the employee was previously fired? Can they know the details of the conflict?

 

I understand there probably is no database holding the contract details of all employees. But this is Germany, I am subconsciously afraid there might be some Amt stacking information about dismissals. But probably that's more of a joke - I am more interested whether the previous employer has a right to disclose this information when contacted by the future employer during the background screening process. In case they have a right to disclose the fact of dismissal, can they babble about the details of the conflict?

 

The details for the conflict are complex and too much to explain here, but  basically my wife is considering to protest by not performing the service she was contracted for. They will have a full right to cancel the contract and that won't hurt us. But it would not do any good if a future employer would find out that she was fired because she basically refused to perform one of her duties. (And that would be true) In such case she would be fine to settle down for several more months until the contract expires.

 

Sorry if this sounds vague, I am happy to provide more details.  

[catjones 1,531]

Can't she just quit?

[White Rose of Yorkshire 995]

 

1 hour ago, Wlosty said:

Situation: my wife is working for a company on a temporary contract. There is a conflict about current working conditions and she is thinking whether to push the employer further. They can terminate the contract practically without a reason and that's fine. We are worried about her reputation when she will be looking for another employment. (reputation is supposedly very important in her industry)

 

 

A temporary contract is a contract and has a notice period.

 

If your wife has worked for up to 6 months at her present company she will be given a simple document which states something  like Mrs x worked from .. until .. as a ..at our company.

 

German references contain a lot of information, date of birth, length of employment, position, duties and reason for the contract being terminated. As everything of importance is mentioned in the reference there is no need for a future employer to contact a past employer. There are no background checks between past and future employers in Germany and it is illegal (Datenschutz) for a future employer to contact a past employer and ask for information but this may be difficult to prove.

 

If the period of employment was longer than 6 months your wife will be given a reference which will state why the employment ended, lack of work, in mutal agreement etc. If it states, the contract was teminated on….and no reason is given, this makes a very negative impression on a future employer.  

Employers have a legal obligation to give a reference and this must be shown when applying for all future jobs.   Your wife could ask to end the contract in mutual agreement which means she agrees to her contract being terminated.  On the downside, this will mean that she will not receive any unemployment benefit for the first few months and has to contact her health insurance company about her contributions during this period of time. The Agentur für Arbeit can give her more information. Your wife will also have to have a good reason to explain at future interviews why she agreed to her contract being terminated if she didn't have another job to go to.

 

 

 

[karin_brenig 588]

how long has your wife been working for this company?

what has changed, and when, to make this job "impossible"?

You say "working conditions" - what exactly? There are a number of rules about "working conditions" (like hours, size of work space, potential health hazards, mobbing...) that the employer could be violating, giving your wife powerful leverage. 

 

Don't worry about the next employer talking to the current one - just answer any questions briefly and thruthfully. Say something like "the job wasn't a good fit anymore." or "I didn't see a way to develop further in my career there".

 

A "temporary contract" is usually for one year only - can't your wife simply finish this temporary assignment and not pursue renewal after the prescribed end date?

[maxie 541]

Could your wife look for a new job now? Then she can give that as a reason for quitting forever after.  If it is a small industry,  people might gossip about somebody refusing to do part of their job and word might get around. Of course the company isn't allowed to but what about colleagues,  other departments etc?