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Our References (where not provided) Policy respects privacy, avoids liability, and maintains impartiality when handling reference requests.
-policy-template.jpg "References (where not provided) policy template")
1 Overview
1.1 This policy is designed to assist employees who receive a reference request for a former or current employee.
2 Scope
This policy is applicable to
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The purpose of this policy is to establish a clear and consistent approach within the company regarding the provision of references for current and former employees.
It outlines that the company will not provide detailed references, assessments, or opinions about individual employees' performance, behavior, or character to external parties. Instead, the policy focuses on verifying basic employment details, protecting employee confidentiality, and encouraging employees to use personal references or an employment verification letter for personal or career purposes. The policy ensures compliance with data protection and confidentiality regulations and guides the recruitment process to use comprehensive evaluation methods when assessing candidates.
By implementing this policy, the company safeguards sensitive employee information and maintains a fair and impartial approach to handling reference requests.
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.
Yes. Once purchased, you'll be able to download it instantly. Templates are provided in editable format (such as .doc or .xls) so you can customise them easily, and in PDF format for easy sharing.
If you're looking for broader support, we also offer toolkits and library bundles that include the References (where not provided) policy template, along with other HR templates and policies for fully managing your situation. These may be more cost-effective if you need deeper advice.
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 not 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 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 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
8 templates
£34.90
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