Taking up references that tell you something.
Most references arrive late and confirm little beyond dates of employment. That is a reason to ask better questions of the right people, not to stop asking.
On this page
Seven steps to references that carry evidence, and the UK legal points in brief.
Free download: Reference request template ↓Why references so often disappoint
Many employers confirm facts only – dates, job title, sometimes salary – and route requests through HR, where the person replying may never have met the candidate. Candidates nominate referees who will speak well of them, personal referees rarely know their work, and an open “to whom it may concern” reference was written knowing the candidate would read it. None of this makes references pointless. It means a reference request needs designing, like any other part of selection.
Decide what the reference has to do
A reference can do three jobs. It can verify: confirm dates, roles and the experience the candidate has claimed. It can add evidence: describe how the candidate actually worked, from someone who saw it. And in some roles it is part of safeguarding: asking whether there are concerns about someone’s suitability to work with children or adults at risk. Decide which of these you need for this role; it shapes who you ask and what you ask them.
Get consent, and get the timing right
Tell candidates at the application stage that you will take up references, what kind, and when. Ask permission before contacting anyone. Acas advises approaching a current employer only after a conditional offer has been made and with the candidate’s agreement, because an early approach can cost them their job. If the offer depends on references, say so in writing when you make it; we suggest wording such as “subject to references that are satisfactory to us”. Where a role is covered by sector rules that expect references earlier, follow those rules.
Choose referees who saw the work
The best referee is usually the person who managed the candidate most recently. Ask candidates for line managers rather than colleagues or friends, and cover a reasonable span of their recent history rather than one job; we suggest the last three to five years. Check that the referee is who they say they are: write to a work email address or call through the organisation’s main switchboard.
Ask questions that get evidence
Send a short description of the role so the referee knows what matters. Then ask for facts and examples rather than ratings of generic qualities. Illustrative questions:
- “What was your working relationship with them?”
- “What were their main responsibilities?”
- “Describe an example of how they handled a busy period in the team.”
- “What would you see as their main area for development?”
- “Would you employ them again in a similar role?”
Pick two or three areas from your job analysis; more and you will get shorter answers to each. Leave out anything about health, sickness absence or personal characteristics.
Read for what is missing, then pick up the phone
A reference that is warm on everything except the one area that matters, or that answers a different question from the one you asked, may be telling you something. Follow up a written reference with a short call to clarify, and note what was said, recording opinions as the referee’s opinions. A facts-only reply is not a warning sign in itself; it is usually company policy. Treat an open reference as a lead to follow up directly, not as a reference.
Verify qualifications at source
Where a qualification or professional registration matters to the role, check it directly with the awarding body or the professional register rather than relying on a certificate or a referee. A false claim matters even where the qualification itself was not essential, because of what it says about honesty.
Decide, and record how you decided
Weigh the reference with everything else you know. If something adverse comes back, check it before acting: is it factual, relevant to this role, and consistent with other evidence? We suggest giving the candidate a chance to respond to the substance of a concern before you withdraw an offer. Record what you relied on, keep references securely, and delete them when they are no longer needed.
Reference request template
A request email, a pre-send checklist, and a reference form that asks for examples against the areas that matter for the role.
The legal points in brief (UK)
- No general duty to give a reference. An employer does not have to provide one unless it has agreed in writing to do so (for example in a contract or settlement agreement) or the role is a regulated financial services role under FCA or PRA rules (Acas; GOV.UK). Some sectors also set their own requirements for the recruiting employer, such as the FCA’s regulatory references rules and the Department for Education’s Keeping children safe in education guidance for schools in England.
- A reference must be true, accurate and fair. A referee owes a duty to take reasonable care over its accuracy (Spring v Guardian Assurance, House of Lords, 1994), and a reference must not give a misleading impression overall, even if each statement in it is factually correct (Bartholomew v London Borough of Hackney, Court of Appeal, 1999). This is why many employers confirm facts only.
- No health questions before an offer. Under section 60 of the Equality Act 2010, which applies in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), an employer must not ask about an applicant’s health before offering the job, except for limited purposes such as checking whether adjustments are needed for an assessment. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance makes clear this includes asking referees, for example about sickness absence.
- Confidential references and data protection. The Data Protection Act 2018 (Schedule 2, paragraph 24) exempts references given in confidence for employment purposes from certain UK GDPR rights, including the right of access. Store references securely and keep them no longer than you need them.
A summary, not legal advice. Check sector rules and take advice on anything unusual.
If you work in a regulated or safeguarding sector
Follow your sector’s rules first; they may require references for particular roles, cover specific periods or questions, or expect references before interview. Financial services firms have regulatory references rules for certain roles. Schools in England work to Keeping children safe in education, which among other things expects schools to obtain references directly rather than accept open ones. Ask referees directly whether they know of any concerns about the candidate’s suitability to work with children or adults at risk.
When you are the one giving a reference
- Have a written policy on who gives references and what they cover
- Give facts you can support from records, and opinions only where they rest on facts
- Make sure the overall picture is fair and not misleading, including what you leave out
- Do not let someone with a grievance against the person write it
- Check who is asking before you answer, and keep a note of what you said
References work best as the last step of a process that has already gathered good evidence, from a structured interview and other methods; the selection method chooser shows where they fit.
Drawn from great{with}talent’s factsheets on taking up and giving references (2013, 2015) and our safeguarding reference questions (2015), updated for current law and rewritten. Legal sources: Acas, Job references (updated 1 October 2026); GOV.UK, References: your rights; Spring v Guardian Assurance plc [1994] UKHL 7; Bartholomew v London Borough of Hackney [1999] IRLR 246; Equality Act 2010, s.60 and EHRC guidance on pre-employment health questions; Data Protection Act 2018, Sch. 2 para. 24. Online referencing is what ReferenceExpert does.
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