Can a potential employer collect information about me from someone other than my nominated referee?

If a potential employer obtains information about you from someone other than your listed referee, this may raise a number of privacy issues. It may raise issues both for the prospective employer, who shouldn't have collected information about you from an unapproved source, and from the person who provided the information, who disclosed this information without your consent.

You may want to consider contacting the privacy officer at your former employer, prospective employer or both. If you are unhappy with their response and believe you have been harmed in some way as a result of their actions, you can make a complaint to us.

We would also suggest that, before listing someone as a referee, you check to make sure they are happy to provide you with a reference, and that you have the best contact details for them.