A Guernsey jobseeker who lost his job because of a reference letter has won the right to see it.
This individual was offered a job in the United States, but the offer was withdrawn following a referral from a previous employer.
The Policy and Resources Committee (P&R) was found to have breached data protection laws by refusing an applicant's request to see a copy.
P&R accepted the ruling but said it felt the current interpretation of the law was “too narrow”.
ODPA said in a statement that the jobseeker had exercised his rights under the Data Protection Act 2017 (Guernsey Bailiwick) to request a copy of the references.
ODPA said that although the work in question was not a P&R, the data request was processed by the commission as the human resources function was within the commission's authority.
“Significant interests”
It added that P&R denied the request because the document “contains information about other people.”
ODPA said P&R determined that the interests of the person writing the letter of recommendation outweighed the interests of the job applicant.
As a result of the investigation, ODPA said P&R “failed to adequately consider the vital interests of job applicants.”
“The agency's investigation found that P&R violated the law by failing to provide job applicants with the information they were entitled to receive under their access rights,” ODPA said.
The agency added that it has issued an enforcement order to P&R to provide job applicants with copies of the reference materials with the edits agreed with ODPA.
As a result, we confirmed that P&R provided references to job seekers.
“Significant impact”
Following the ruling, P&R said it was “very concerned” that the legal provisions regarding confidentiality of references to job applicants may not be “sufficiently robust”.
A statement from the commission said: “The current legal interpretation of the ODPA in Guernsey is too narrow, creating a situation where employers feel unable to provide honest feedback on references, effectively removing any real value from references. It is the committee's view that
“The committee believes this has a significant impact on recruitment in Guernsey and therefore needs to be addressed.”
It said it accepted the decision on the matter, but added that it would discuss with the Home Affairs Committee what changes should be made to the island's current data protection laws.
“Without changes, the island will not align with England and Wales,” P&R said.
“The Commission hopes that this will lead to changes that will ensure greater certainty in the law that job information should be treated as confidential, both in the hands of past and prospective employers. .”