Why would an employer provide a bad job reference letter ("Arbeitszeugnis")?

If an employee leaves a company, they can get a job reference document (not sure about other countries, but in Germany this is called "Arbeitszeugnis"). There is a lot of discussion online how to get a "good" job reference letter. This might be a very naive question, but I'm wondering: what is the benefit for a company to give a reference letter that does not describe the person as a model employee? The employee has already quit; so why would the company want to make live hard for them? Is there any tangible benefit for the company? I would also appreciate insights from HR people who have written "non-optimal" reference letters, what their reasoning was. Or am I mistaken, and nearly all reference letters these days are glowing references anyway?

May 5, 2025 - 12:46

If an employee leaves a company, they can get a job reference document (not sure about other countries, but in Germany this is called "Arbeitszeugnis"). There is a lot of discussion online how to get a "good" job reference letter.

This might be a very naive question, but I'm wondering: what is the benefit for a company to give a reference letter that does not describe the person as a model employee? The employee has already quit; so why would the company want to make live hard for them? Is there any tangible benefit for the company?

I would also appreciate insights from HR people who have written "non-optimal" reference letters, what their reasoning was.

Or am I mistaken, and nearly all reference letters these days are glowing references anyway?