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View full libraryOur References (where provided) Policy Template outlines the company's guidelines and procedures for providing references for former employees, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance with legal requirements.
-policy-template.jpg "References (where provided) policy template")
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1 Overview
1.1 This policy is designed to assist employees who receive a reference request for a former or current employee.
2 Scope
2.1 This policy is applicable to all employees of [Company].
3 General principles
3.1 Receiving a request for a reference
3.1.1 It is [Company]'s policy that references for a former or current employee may be given only by the [employee's manager or, in his/her absence, a senior manager]. No other person in [Company] is permitted to provide a written or verbal reference about current or former employees. Any requests for a reference should be passed to the [employee's manager or, in his/her absence, a senior manager].
3.2 Providing the information requested
3.2.1 [Any references provided must be in writing.] The reference should explain that it is [Company]'s policy to respond to requests for information in a standard format. The only factual information that may be provided is [list the appropriate points and expand on them as necessary]:
[the dates of the employee's employment with [Company];
the employee's job title;
a short description of the employee's key job duties and level of responsibility;
whether or not the individual held responsibility for staff, money, equipment, computer operations, etc;
any jobs that the employee held within [Company] prior to the job held at the date of termination (or the current job), and for how long he/she performed these jobs;
whether or not any disciplinary warnings have been issued to the employee during the last 12 months or, if the reference is for a former employee, in the 12 months prior to his/her leaving [Company];
where the employee has left [Company], the reason for termination of employment, for example resignation, redundancy, or the
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This References (where provided) policy template aims to offer you a versatile and customisable tool, serving as a solid foundation for your needs. Utilise it to ensure consistency, enhance accuracy, and save valuable time.
Adapt it to suit your unique requirements, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in your HR processes.
Yes. This template has been designed for organisations of all sizes, including small businesses, charities and growing employers. It follows UK employment law best practice and can be adapted to suit your organisation.
Our templates are developed with UK employment legislation, Acas guidance and HR best practice in mind and are reviewed and updated as relevant requirements change. However, every employment situation is different, so the template should be adapted to the circumstances and checked against the employee's contract and your organisation's procedures before use.
Yes, we highlight the areas of the document that you need to update with your own details, and where you need to make decisions to suit your situation. This saves you time and ensures that you meet best practice.
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AI can produce a document quickly, but effective HR documentation needs to be more than well-written words. It needs to reflect relevant UK employment law, HR best practice, practical considerations and the circumstances in which it will be used. These resources have been professionally developed around that wider HR context, drawing on extensive practical experience, rather than simply generating a generic document from a prompt.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The References (where provided) policy template is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing recruitment and selection HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
Recruitment and selection policies
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