Observations and Comment on Johns posting.

I wonder when 'hard-bitten personal professionals' last took a retraining
course in positive thinking.

I have yet to see a good argument on why people are afraid of supporting
their reference. If its well written, honest and factual, No DPA or Libel
challenge can arise so why fear legislation.

If the underlying data required for a reference lacks integrity, those
needing to use it should be supporting DPA principles via encouraging
improvements, not bury their head in sand seeing it as someone elses
problem. The Ostrich syndrome evidenced by recent posts indicating HR
divisions are waiting for OIC guidance before assessing their processing
procedures in accordance with the Acts requirements.

If a reference is only a personal opinion then this should be clear. If the
referee is the employee of an HR dept and not a person who personally knows
the individual then personal data is all they've got to work with.

References are rightly challengable as there is often little control over
their construction by way of supporting evidence and they have substantial
impact on individuals. What percentage of referees have ever had formal
training in reference construction I wonder.

Data Controllers are also impacted by reference accuracy. I know of a case
where a 'glowing' reference was given to assist offloading an employee. This
was later challenged in court due to the costs incuured of removing the
person recruited on the strength of the reference. What value references
when abused in this manner by companies / organisations.

It is not the DP Act causing the problems, It is the referees own confidence
in their information.

The primary point of DPA is to ensure information standards are improved
this benefits everyone including those hard bitten personal professionals
who may need a reference indicating they are indeed professional.

Who sets the standards by which you are judged to be professional. Disregard
for the rule of law is not usually perceived as professional, but I suppose
this could be subjective.

It is disappointing to see so many negative potrayals of DPA legislation.
:-(

Im calm now. ;-)

David Wyatt

> -----Original Message-----
> From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of J.C. Gaunt
> Sent: 22 January 2002 14:35
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Data Subject Access to Confidential References
>
>
> There may be some sympathy for a high-minded and principled
> approach to writing
> references, but many hard-bitten personnel professionals regard
> open references
> as worth little more than the paper they're written on. A
> heavy-handed Act may
> lead to the loss of one of the few valuable aids to the selection
> of good staff,
> 'the confidential reference'.
>
> John Gaunt
> Senior Assistant Secretary
> University of Sussex, Sussex House, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RH
> Tel 01273 678427 (internal 8427)
> Email [log in to unmask]
>
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