Simple rules for drawing up a negative reference from a place of work for a bad employee and a sample for the court

The requirement to provide a reference from your place of work is a fairly common occurrence. Therefore, it would be very useful for employers to know how to correctly draw up this document.

There is no single form according to which such a document is drawn up. In general, a testimonial is an assessment of an employee on behalf of his direct supervisor, executed in writing.

Data for compilation

The correct description contains the main qualities that characterize the employee, both personal and business, achievements and awards. When this document is drawn up, it is imperative to take into account why it is needed. If the document was requested by law enforcement agencies, then they are more interested in the person’s personal qualities and the quality of his interaction with colleagues; for a new employer, in addition to personal qualities, professional skills are also of interest.

This document is always written in the third person present or past tense. The document provides only facts, without comments or assessments.

Practices of dealing with negative employee feedback

Preventing the emergence of negativity.

— Conducting exit interviews for resigned employees. — Smoothing out negative aspects during dismissal. — Non-disclosure agreement about the employer.

Removing negative reviews about the employer.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation presented its interpretation of defamatory information: “...defamatory, in particular, is information containing allegations of a violation by a citizen or legal entity of the current legislation, the commission of a dishonest act, incorrect, unethical behavior in personal, public or political life, dishonesty in the implementation of production -economic and entrepreneurial activities, violation of business ethics or business customs that detract from the honor and dignity of a citizen or the business reputation of a citizen or legal entity.”

But, if the review contains only value judgments, then it does not discredit business reputation:

“Value judgments, opinions, and beliefs are expressed to citizens, which are an expression of the views of the one who speaks out. Such judgments may concern not only professional, but also personal, moral qualities of a particular citizen. Everyone is guaranteed the right to freedom of thought and speech, and therefore such statements are not prohibited in principle.”

Most often, courts with this wording refuse to satisfy a claim for violation of business reputation when posting negative reviews about it.

How to compose

There are established rules that are usually relied upon when writing characteristics for a person.

1. The document is written on an A4 sheet.
2. Abbreviations in the document should be excluded. In the main part, you must indicate the employee’s achievements and his career in the company. It is necessary to highlight such things as serious projects, participation in large-scale projects, and the like.
3. If, while working at the enterprise, the employee improved his qualifications or participated in training, this must be included in the characteristics.
4. It is necessary to describe the personal qualities of the employee. This could be the ability to maintain good relationships with colleagues, behavior in conflict situations, punctuality, and the like.
5. Rewards and gratitude for good work must be indicated.

Typically, the employee’s direct supervisor is responsible for writing the characteristics. This document is signed by the person who compiled it. If the enterprise has a personnel department, then its employee also signs the document.

The specification is written on the company’s letterhead, has its own number and must be certified by the company’s seal.

How to properly respond to different types of reviews?

We have learned the basic principles, but this is not enough: after all, every situation is different, and it is unwise to apply the same approach. We have collected several typical situations and provided examples of how to properly respond to employee reviews.

Feedback on salary and benefits

Review: The company offers an excellent work-life balance and many opportunities for career growth.
However, the salary is below average both for the region and in comparison with other companies in this industry that I have worked for. Reply #1: Thanks for your feedback! At the moment, we do not plan to change the amount of remuneration and the set of privileges. An analysis of competitors and other companies in our region showed that salaries in our company are indeed below average, but we consider this level to be fair. If you would like to discuss further, please write to

Answer #2: Thanks for your feedback! We analyzed competitors and other companies in our region and came to the conclusion that we really need to raise the level of compensation and expand the range of benefits to make our employees more comfortable to work with. The HR department will report the results. If you would like to discuss further, please write to

Feedback on corporate policy

Feedback: I am so glad to work in our company! Great team, I constantly learn something new from my colleagues. It is confusing that maternity leave is only provided to mothers. When my son was born, I didn’t want to go on paid leave or take time off at my own expense.

Reply #1: Thanks for your feedback! The fact is that most of our male employees use paid leave after the birth of a child to spend time with family. Therefore, we decided not to introduce a separate concept of maternity leave for men. However, if you would like to discuss further, please write to

Answer #2: Thanks for your feedback! We are closely monitoring employee feedback and have already begun working on the conditions for maternity leave for men. I wouldn’t want my employees to lose motivation to be with their families at such an important time! If you want to know more about the new conditions, write to

Reviews about the company's management

Review: The company offers an excellent set of privileges and reasonable vacation conditions. However, I don't like the fact that company management makes important decisions without asking employees whose jobs may be significantly affected by these decisions. And vice versa: many proposals that would greatly improve the work process remain “at the top” and are not implemented - and we do not even know about them.

Answer: Thanks for your feedback! When company management makes decisions like this, we take many factors into account. One of the most important is how this decision will affect employees. Often you have to make long-term decisions that may seem unwise in the short term.

Now our company is developing, and such decisions are necessary, so we just need to wait out the difficult period - we are confident that after this the entire company will feel a positive effect.

We will be happy to discuss with you specific actions of management that caused you negativity - write a letter to

Helpful tip: If the review mentions a specific employee (or their position), ask them to write a response on their behalf.

Feedback on corporate culture

Feedback: The company offers excellent opportunities for career growth, but there is a noticeable lack of team spirit in my department. Here it’s every man for himself, even though we were divided into teams. There is a lot of work, there is no time to consult with colleagues or join forces - and so you have to work on weekends in order to meet the deadline. And I’m also the only woman in the department – ​​there’s a lot of harassment!

Response from department head #1: Thank you for your feedback! Of course, each employee has their own working style, but we want to encourage employees to work together more often. For example, in the IT department we are planning to launch a hackathon (intensive brainstorming in teams). If you have any suggestions, send them to, let's discuss.

Response from department head #2: Thank you for your feedback! We are developing ways to encourage employees to “unplug” from work on weekends and away from the office in general. Such changes will begin with managers. If you have any suggestions, send them to, let's discuss.

HR response: Thank you for your feedback! We take such complaints from our employees very seriously. Please write a letter to and share details.

"Minimalistic" reviews

Positive review: I love working for this company! The best place on the planet! I don’t even know what the downsides might be.

Answer: Thanks for your feedback! We appreciate your consideration and are glad to hear that you enjoy working with us. If you have something to discuss, write to

Negative review: I have nothing good to say. Stupid company, I regret every day I worked there.

Answer: Thanks for your feedback! We would like to find out in more detail what you were not satisfied with - this will help our company become better. Please write to us at

What does the document contain?

Such a document as a characteristic must contain the following:

• a header that contains the name of the organization, the serial number of the document, the last name, first name and patronymic of the person who compiled this document;
• last name, first name and patronymic of the employee for whom the document was drawn up;
• labor career and human activity, including previous places of work;
• penalties or rewards for the period of work;
• business and personal qualities of a person;
• the place to which the document will be submitted is usually written “at the place of request”;
• signature of the manager and date of preparation;
• seal of the organization.

Characteristics of a university (college) student

Sample

Panin V.V. was expelled from the 4th year of the State University of Industrial Technologies and Design. During his studies, he showed himself to be an undisciplined student with a low level of development. GPA is 2.8 (DE). At the moment he has minimal knowledge in specialized subjects.

Panin V.V. missed lectures and practices without a good reason, did not pass tests and exams on time, and did not show interest in his future profession. The student could not cope with the curriculum and had an “unsatisfactory” grade in most subjects. He was disinterested in his classes, required supervision from the teaching staff, and rarely completed his homework.

Lazy, not organized, not punctual. Panin V.V. had comments regarding many disciplines, conflicted with others, including teachers. He did not try to maintain friendly relations with students, behaved disrespectfully, was rude and argued. Did not take part in the life of the university. Reacted inadequately to criticism. His speech culture is at an average level. Has bad habits.

Head of HR Department E.S. Markova

Qualities set out in the document

The characteristics include both personal and business qualities, experience and level of knowledge. All this information can have both positive and negative connotations.

Business qualities

Positive:

• ability to organize the labor process;
• punctuality in achieving goals;
• quality of work performed;
• organizational skills;
• initiative;
• good relationships in the team;
• responsibility;
• high discipline;
• diligence.

Negative:

• lack of punctuality;
• lack of organization;
• the work is done “carelessly”;
• inability to demonstrate organizational skills;
• poor relationships in the team;
• lack of initiatives;
• irresponsibility;
• indiscipline.

Personal qualities

Positive:

• ability to communicate;
• activity;
• goodwill;
• charisma.

Negative:

• unsociability;
• conflict.

Knowledge and experience

Positive:

• knowledge at a sufficient level;
• availability of necessary skills;
• good work experience.

Negative:

• lack of knowledge;
• lack of skills;
• no or little work experience.

For new employment

When hiring a new employee, employers often want to get feedback on the new employee from their previous employer. This is widespread in budget organizations. In this case, the requirements for the characteristics are somewhat different.

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In the sample, mention all the main qualities of the employee: personal and business qualities, professional skills, participation in social or labor activities of the organization. Finish the description with a recommendation to hire the person if the managers from the previous place of work were satisfied with the cooperation.

Types of characteristics

The characteristics are:

• external;
• internal.

External are those characteristics that are provided to other organizations or government bodies. When drawing up such a document, it is necessary to clarify with the employee which specific characteristics should be emphasized, personal or business.

Internal characteristics are used within the enterprise itself and are used, for example, when an employee is transferred to another department or division. In such a document, it is necessary to focus specifically on the business qualities and working skills of the employee.

How to write a reference from a place of work to the police

In the position of engineer - since August. He performs his job duties at a low professional level, lacks initiative, allowing occasional violations of the job description. During - years. Submitted by F. Little work is being done to improve design methods. He has difficulty mastering modern labor automation tools and does not know how to use them independently in project work. Methodological and regulatory documents on the design of technological modules, and the corresponding accompanying documentation can only be developed under the guidance of a more experienced specialist.

draw up a service reference for a police officer in the color of the characteristics, positive or negative.

Examples of characteristics

Let's look at what a negative reference from a place of work looks like. A sample is given below.

LLC "Solntsevorot"

№567/13

Characteristics of Tatyana Leonidovna Gnezdilova, born 03/08/1984.

Gnezdilova Tatyana Leonidovna has been working at Solntsevorot LLC since January 2020. Holds the position of sales manager. The manager's responsibilities include the following:

• sale of enterprise products;
• interaction with clients;
• drawing up a marketing plan for the enterprise;
• searching for new product sales channels;
• maintaining contacts with clients; maintaining client records.

From the first days of working in the team, Gnezdilov T.L. showed herself to be a conflicted person. She repeatedly expressed her negative opinion about the company’s employees and its management. Expressed disdain for management and clients.

Professional skills of Gnezdilova T.L. not tall. There are no opportunities to improve professional potential.

In the course of fulfilling the assigned tasks, there were repeated delays in delivery of products due to the fault of this employee. The plan for selling products is not systematically fulfilled.

Gnezdilova T.L. repeatedly received disciplinary sanctions and reprimands due to being late for work and repeated absenteeism. This employee cannot cope with his immediate responsibilities.

Sumarkin M.V. 05/22/2018

About the ability to plan

Positive feedback:

1. It should be noted that the employee is able to analyze the facts and make a selection of the necessary information that forms the basis for the decisions he makes.
2. The employee has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to consider a variety of options to solve problems.
3. The employee is quickly trained and has the skills to separate the important from the unimportant.

Negative characteristic:

1. Some decisions are not sufficiently supported by facts. For this reason, the employee’s proposals were repeatedly returned to the manager for revision, while he had enough time to collect the necessary information.
2. In the future, it is recommended that the employee become better acquainted with the work process of the enterprise and provide documentation in the required format.

An approving review of an employee may contain the following wording:

1. The employee has the skills to plan work and is able to accurately set priorities.
2. The employee's attentiveness to details and the ability to assess the expected consequences of decisions made by the management of the enterprise.
3. Modifies his work plans.
4. Often his comments have a positive impact on the work of the enterprise.

Example of a negative characteristic:

1. The employee needs to work on his skills, because his work planning often leads to the completion of current tasks with low quality.
2. Omissions are often noticed in informing colleagues regarding the information that he expects from them.
3. This approach to work leads to the need for subordinates to stay late after work.
4. There is an inability to multitask.

Why do you need a characteristic?

A negative reference for an employee, a sample of which is given above, as well as a positive one, may be required for various authorities and cases . For example:

• upon dismissal;
• for law enforcement agencies;
• for rewarding;
• to court.

Depending on the place where this document is addressed, there is a need to emphasize various qualities of the employee.

Upon dismissal

When an employee resigns, the characterization must focus specifically on the employee’s business qualities and professional skills. It is also necessary to mention the personal qualities of a person that are directly related to his work.

If a person does not resign of his own free will, but is fired at the request of the employer, then this should also be noted in the description. It is worth writing down why this happened and what qualities were the reason for this.

For law enforcement agencies

The police will be more interested in a person’s personal qualities and the quality of his interaction with the team. Professional data will not be as relevant.

It is worth talking about the presence of incentives or penalties at work. If there were violations of the enterprise’s internal standards, then you need to remember that those violations that are more than one year old should not be included in the characteristics.

For awards

Rewarding an employee with a reward can occur for various reasons. This can be high moral qualities and impeccable work. A reference may be required as an appendix to a petition for nomination for an award. It would be appropriate here to mention the contribution made to the work of the team, participation in major projects, conferences and developments.

Such a document will have a number of features:

• the purpose of the characteristic is “submission for an award”;
• the merits in connection with which the award is being nominated should be indicated.

To court

The characterization for the court must be drawn up with special attention. This document may be required in court both in a criminal case and in a civil case. When making a sentence or decision in a case, the judge will be guided, among other things, by the reference from the place of work.

Negative description of a school student

Svetlov S.A. studied at a comprehensive school from 8th to 11th grade. During his studies he showed average abilities. There is no motivation for learning activities, the program is not fully mastered and with difficulty. Svetlov S.A. often skipped school, did extraneous activities during lessons, did not participate in social events, and violated discipline rules.

Svetlov S.A. – an introvert with a secretive character. Silent, uncommunicative, impulsive. There were often difficulties with his adaptation, outbursts of nervousness and anger, and aggressiveness towards his peers. Has high self-esteem, requires constant attention, does not take into account the opinions of other people. The student attended school in an unkempt manner and often did not have the necessary supplies and textbooks with him.

No deviations in physiological development were found, however, since 2020 Svetlov S.A. is registered with the Commission on Minors' Affairs. He lives with his mother, who is not involved in his upbringing, does not control his son’s studies and academic performance, and abuses alcoholic beverages.

An employee profile is a special type of document. Despite the fact that there is no single approved sample for its preparation, the importance of this “paper” is undeniable.

In general, a characteristic, if we talk about the specific definition of the concept, is a document reflecting the enterprise management’s assessment of its employee, a kind of analysis of the employee from the point of view of the effectiveness of his professional activities and the adequacy of his personal qualities.

What will be superfluous in the document

There are no regulations for drawing up characteristics, but still, there are certain taboos for this document. The document should not contain:

• emotions;
• insults;
• false information;
• the employee’s personal views on politics, religion, etc.;
• errors in spelling words and constructing sentences.

If the above restrictions occur in the issued characteristic, then it can be appealed in court. If an employee does not agree with the reference given to him, then he can attach his written explanations to it.

Key principles

To properly respond to employee feedback, follow the “three E’s”:

• Awareness. Often, the authors of negative reviews need you to realize the problem, and not just get off with the on-duty “we’re sorry for the inconvenience.” Be transparent: explain why the situation is the way it is and what you intend to do to solve the problem. In turn, if the review is positive, do not ignore it. In addition to the usual “thank you,” note that positive feedback helps the company grow.
• Rationale. If the review is negative, don't let your emotions take over: use only facts to justify your position. Provide the reviewer with statistics or research results.
• Discussion. Remember that your response is intended not only for the reviewer, but also for other readers - such as the aforementioned applicants.

Sample employee review

// 04/18/2020 209 Views

1. Next, it is indicated in what period of time and in what position the person being characterized worked for the employer.
2. Abilities for scientific and creative activities (developing your own projects, writing articles, publishing, studying the depth of the profession from a scientific point of view).
3. Ability to work in difficult work situations (with a lack of time, ability to perform several jobs at once, master new technologies).
4. The duties that he must perform at his workplace are listed, and they can be divided into two groups according to the degree of success in their implementation; you can add information about the employee’s professional potential.
5. Obtaining additional education, improving professional skills.

If during the course of his working life the employee held different positions, all positions should be indicated with the periods spent in each of them.

1. The employee's most important achievements are listed here.

Problems that arise when drafting a document

The main problem that arises when writing a characteristic is the lack of legally established rules for its preparation. When drawing up this document, the manager must put aside all his emotions towards the employee and provide the most dry statement of facts, without any emotional overtones.

Before starting to write the text of the document, especially if a bad reference is being written for an employee from the place of work, it would be useful for the boss to talk with the colleagues of the person being characterized. It is necessary to avoid templates when compiling and pay maximum attention to the correct presentation of the facts.

It is better to keep your personal attitude towards the employee and comments about his qualities to yourself. Only reliable data should be presented.