An insurance assessor who was turned down for a job with the Personal Injury Assessment Board (PIAB) when one of her referee's gave what was regarded as an unsatisfactory recommendation, has been awarded €15,000 compensation.
The Labour Court was told the woman had applied for the PIAB job while working with an insurance company and had been successful and progressed through the various stages of the competency-based interviews.
Trade union Siptu said that when she received a draft contract she thought only two mere formalities remained to be completed - a medical check and two references from people of her own choice.
"As the position offered a substantial increase in salary, the worker tendered her one month's notice of resignation," Siptu said.
However, her nominated referee failed to give what the PIAB regarded as a "satisfactory verbal reference" to a member of the personnel staff.
"This was reported to the human resources manager who then made a follow-up phone call to the referee to clarify the situation and see if there were any mitigating circumstances which might change the tenor of the initial conversation.
"However, as a result, a letter was later issued advising the worker that her application would not now progress," the court said in a recommendation that has just become available.
Siptu said that as a result of the rescinding of the job offer she had suffered "a future financial loss, plus embarrassment and stress".
The PIAB told the court that at no time was the woman offered a job.
She was only told she was to progress to the final stage of the recruitment process.
It said that as she withdrew her notice and still worked for the insurance company, she had suffered no financial loss and was not entitled to compensation.
The Labour Court found that there was an onus on prospective employers to be fair and thorough in their assessment of the views of referees and to adopt standards which were fair and reasonable.
"In this case, the court feels that the PIAB fell far short of such standards in its dealings with a prospective employee whom it had not only suggested should apply for a position but, on its own admission, found suitable for the position.
"The court considers that the PIAB failed to apply fair and equitable standards of natural justice in dealing with the interpretation of the referee's responses."