Hilarious reason woman was denied a reference from boss

Rachael Calvert had no idea why her request was refused - until she checked her group chat. Photo / Twitter

A young woman has revealed the awkward drunken blunder that cost her a reference letter from her former boss.

Rachael Calvert, from Edinburgh in Scotland, recently left her "fast-paced" hospitality job after scoring another role.

But when the 21-year-old student later contacted her restaurant manager to ask for a letter of reference, she was told her request had been denied, reports News.com.au.

Calvert was initially puzzled, as she had left the job on good terms with her boss and colleagues — but she soon realised she had made one embarrassing mistake that ruined everything.

The young woman was part of an informal group Whatsapp chat with her former co-workers, including her manager — and after racking her brains to figure out why her boss had refused a reference, she discovered she had left an awkward, drunken voice message in the chat.

The mortified worker shared the clip on Twitter with the caption: "Been emailed saying my old work won't give me a reference for my new job and it's made me so sad. Then I realised this might be why."

In the clip, she can be heard cackling and yelling "bye f***ers, bye f***ers".

Rachael Calvert has gone viral after accidentally sending her boss a rude message. Photo / Twitter

The clip has since gone viral, attracting 4000 retweets, almost 42,000 likes and thousands of comments.

"Worth it tbh," one Twitter user joked, while another added: "This made me laugh way too much".

"I would give her a reference for that!!!!" another offered.

In several follow-up tweets, Calvert joked she "cant stop crying" and "hates" herself for the mistake.

While Calvert has received some criticism for the message, she's also been inundated with reference offers and messages of support.

She later clarified she already had a new job, telling UK tabloid The Mirror the situation was "a bit awkward".

"I'm disappointed in myself. But also I think it was just part of my personality. I always roast people, but it's never in harmful intent, it's just how I make friends," she told the publication.

"I get along with all of the staff, although I had some issues with the main manager. I suppose this was employment and not a social gathering.

"Nothing was left on bad terms, though, and I went back to the restaurant to have food with my boyfriend on the following Valentine's Day. It was a bit awkward though."