References from employers - Charge?

[zain]

If an employee moves company and wants a reference from its employer, the employer is allowed to charge a fee?

Apparently its against the law, but now its not - Anyone know? Its one aspect I havent even thought about!

 

[zain]

Thanks, reason is:

Staff come and go often in some organisations - The process of a reference in a fairly big organisation vary. An example of a working organisation: It would have to be references from a certain department, then typed up properly by say a receptionist and read to make sure its acceptable by management. This is time and money, which shouldnt be a burden on the company but the employee wanting the info.

Seems fair to me, unless the employee has been a member for a while - if so, its a tad unfair unless the employee is a git