Hi
I applied for a job who then asked my current employer for a reference ( I was unaware they had done this) and my current employer has not told me but has told other staff members is this not breaching my confidentiality

I would say two mistakes were made here. The hiring manager of the company you interviewed with should not have called your current boss without alerting you to it, so that you could let him know. Your boss probably felt a bit shell-shocked getting the call out of the blue. And your current boss should not blab about it (except perhaps to HR and/or his own boss), but it's not confidential information that can't be shared. So both managers were wrong, but in my opinion the hiring manager made the bigger error.

No laws have been broken, however. At least not that I am aware of.

Agreed - no laws were broken. And I doubt that there is a corporate policy on this, but you could always ask someone in your HR department about it. Many companies have an ombudsman whose job is to field concerns from employees without having to go through their manager - does your company have such a person?

Sorry but I am more with joy. The poster gave his current employer as a reference so the interview is free to check. Current employer told what to others, that you were interviewing? This is more like gossip than anyhthing. If the current employer gets a call you have no expectation of confidentialty since you gave him as a reference

If you give a reference, be prepared for that reference to be called.

If you put a current employer on a job application, or resume, it's common practice for a potential new employer to call your current boss. They don't notify you of this, and they're not required to. It's standard practice.

What exactly has your current employer told other staff members? Did your current employer discuss personal information with the other staffers? Breaching confidentiality means that something confidential needs to be divulged. So what did your current employer tell other staff members?

Your current employer does not have to notify you that a potential employer that you applied to, called for a reference. That's not a breach of confidentiality, that's normal practice.

I agree... when you gave that number for a reference... you gave them implicit permission to call them.

When I was job hopping looking for a better position, never put my current managers name down as a reference unless he knew I was looking... which was a very rare situation. I usually put coworkers I trusted as a reference. Or I put down, reference upon request... but give all the others.

Word getting around you are interviewing elsewhere can be a kiss of death for your career there if you don't leave.

New work places, call old work places, this is common and a normal practice. No they do not tell you, it is assumed, they will do that.

If you do not want the current work place notified, or checked, you have to tell them, and mark it on application.

Then they wait till you are hired and contact, as long as it is exactly like you said, no issue.

And the normal questions, are you late for work, are you a good worker, when were you hired, how much do you earn. Would you rehire.

I never give the current company exact name, on application, only that it will be given, upon offer.

I've never heard of a prospective employer calling a CURRENT employer for a reference unless, the job seeker specifically listed them as a reference and not just a current employer.

But I'm curious as to what "confidentiality" you think you had? While it may not have been standard practice or even ethical, you had no promise or expectation of privacy here.

I have recently filled out applications....on all of them it has you list your employment history up to and including your current employer. Somewhere on the application, usually next to each employer, including the current one, there is a question asking if they can contact the employer. If you didn't want this, you should have said "no". If you didn't say no, then it is what it is. The current guy maybe is wrong for doing what he's doing but legally he isn't.

Scott, maybe it's different in the US, but every job I've ever applied for, they called former employers listed either on my application, or resume. Once listed in either of these documents, they're considered a reference. Like Chuck said, unless you specify that you do not wish specific people on your application, or resume, to be contacted, if you list them they're fair game, just like any reference you list.

I've gone job hunting when I was already employed. In that case I stated on my application, or resume, that I did not wish that employer to be contacted, because I didn't want to lose my current position without having another. That request was always honored.

From what the OP wrote, he didn't specify that he didn't want his current employer contacted, so the company that interviewed him did nothing wrong by contacting his current employer. They could only know the current employer because the OP provided that information.

As for the current employer. I agree that it's in bad taste that he's telling other employers that the OP is looking for work, or discussing that a prospective new employer contacted him/her about the OP. But unless he divulged personal information about the OP, he did nothing wrong.

That's my opinion, based on past experience. :)

they called former employers listed either on my application, or resume.

The key word there is FORMER. Yes, they will call former employers, but if you are currently employed, they won't call the current employer. As odinn reported, many applications have a checkbox for Can we contact...

Scott, I think you missed this part of my post:


I've gone job hunting when I was already employed. In that case I stated on my application, or resume, that I did not wish that employer to be contacted, because I didn't want to lose my current position without having another. That request was always honored.

I've also been in the position of informing my current employer that I'm looking for work elsewhere, in which case I didn't state in my resume or application that I would like them not to contact my current employer, so they did.

It's my understanding that unless the applicant specifies that certain people listed on a resume, or application, cannot be contacted, they can be, even if it's a current employer.

It happened all the time when I worked at Dollarama. I know because I was the one that answered the phone, and if my boss wasn't available, I was given permission to answer any questions of potential employers for employees that were job hunting while still working for Dollarama. Most times I'd have to tell them to call back because I didn't have enough info on that employee to be accurate. But it happened all the time. Same when I worked at Sears a long long long time ago.

I was an HR director for a school system for many years. WIf a current employer was listed as a referrance that was the first person we called.

There is a difference between being listed as a reference and being listed as a current employer.

Not really Scott. If you put it on the application, or resume, it's fair game. The best people to call are people you've worked for, or are working for, to get an accurate picture on what type of employee you are. Most people put their friends down as references. Of course your friend is going to give you a great review. When I was in charge of hiring I never even bothered with the people on the list of references, I called former and current employers. They're the ones that will give an honest opinion of the applicant.

If you put it on the application, or resume, it's fair game.

Again, I disagree. You have to list your current employer on resume or application, unless you are or want to appear unemployed. But your current employer knowing you are looking can affect your current employment adversely. So my experience is that most HR people will not contact current employers without prior approval.

OK maybe I am not most HR people but I was an HR person. If you listed a current employer as a referrance you are telling me this person can talk about your work to me. You could list them as your current employer but not on the reference list then I would not call them but I would ask you why you did not include them as a reference. You could say you where looking but do not want them to know just yet.