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View full libraryObtaining references from a successful job applicant's prior employers can be incredibly beneficial. This is because facts about a job applicant's previous experience and performance are typically a good predictor of his or her future performance in a comparable post.
<p>If you are managing employment references, the toolkit brings together practical HR templates covering consent, requests, receipt, review and record keeping.</p>
It is perfectly appropriate for an employer to want to ensure that the information provided as part of a job application is correct and comprehensive. Obtaining references from past employers will be a part of that procedure.
It is common practice for businesses to request two written references for each new employee they employ and to condition job offers on such references being satisfactory to the organisation.
Who should references be obtained for, and when?
While some companies choose to obtain references on all short-listed job applicants, this is time intensive and, in some cases, unnecessary. It is regarded best practice to seek references solely for those persons to whom the employer has chosen to provide an offer of employment.
This can be done either before or after the job offer is made, as the offer can be conditional on obtaining sufficient references. If the references turn out to be unacceptable in the eyes of the employer, the offer might be withdrawn without the employer being in violation of contract.
Ideally, company application forms should include a statement advising potential job candidates of any checks that the organisation performs to verify the information that applicants submit.
Guidelines for requesting and interpreting references
You've seen 20% of how the Managers guide to requesting references is structured. Get the complete editable template instantly and customise it for your organisation.
This Managers guide to requesting references 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.
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 Managers guide to requesting references, 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 Managers guide to requesting references 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 reference request 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."
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