ARTICLE · 12 OCTOBER 2021

No Entitlement To The Expression Of Regret In A Job Reference

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There are rulings dealing with all the little details of references, from the exact wording to a crease in the paper.

GermanyEmployment and HR

Tobias Pusch (Pusch Wahlig Workplace Law)

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Even if the value of job references may be limited from a recruiter's point of view and the evaluations do not necessarily play a major role in hiring decisions, references are nevertheless of major importance for German employees. In Germany it is still expected that all career stages are fully documented by very detailed references. Even if the value of extremely positive references is limited, it should not be underestimated how disadvantageous a (possibly hidden) negative evaluation can be for an application process. Therefore, (former) employers and employees often have controversies on s references. There are rulings dealing with all the little details of references, from the exact wording to a crease in the paper.

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