What an Employer Needs to Know About Providing Staff References in England

When you employ staff, you might receive a reference request from another business, asking for a professional reference for one of your current or former employees. If your references are not fair or are inaccurate, misleading or discriminatory, you could face an employment claim such as discrimination or unfair dismissal. This article will explain what you need to know about providing staff references for those in your business in England. 

What is a Job Reference?

There are two types of job references. 

1. An essential reference is a short reference and can be a factual reference. It provides a summary of the employee or former employee’s employment with you. 
2. A detailed reference is a longer reference, also called a character reference.

However, there are two exceptions:

• you have already stated in writing that you will provide a reference, such as in the employment contract; or 
• if the prospective new job is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Therefore, the role will usually be a ‘controlled functions’ type of job.

What Can Employers Say in Job References?

To provide a job reference, you must ensure it is accurate and fair. It is good practice to have a staff policy on giving references if several managers will write a job reference. In this policy, you can detail the type of information necessary and give guidance on how much to include when providing a job reference.

For a basic reference, you might include basic details about a person’s employment with you, such as:

• their job title;
• the date they started work with you; and
• the date they finished if you no longer employ them.

If you are asked as an employer to provide a detailed reference, you will need to provide more information. A detailed reference may include:

• information about the person’s general character;
• answers to specific questions posed by the potential employer;
• what skills, ability and experience the employee has;
• their suitability to the new role they have applied for in terms of their strengths and weaknesses;
• their attendance at work;
• why your former employee left their employment or job with you if they have already done so; and 
• any disciplinary details for your employees when you employed them.

What You Must Avoid in a Job Reference

There are also some elements you should avoid including in a job reference. As a reference must be fair and accurate, you should avoid including:

• personal information which is not relevant;
• anything misleading; and 
• your personal opinions, which you cannot provide evidence for.

Additionally, certain information must not be in a job reference. These are information about any of the nine protected characteristics under discrimination and employment law. These are:

• race, 
• sex;
• maternity and pregnancy;
• disability;
• age;
• sexual orientation;
• religion or belief;
• gender reassignment; and 
• marriage and civil partnership.

However, where the protected characteristic is essential for your employee to carry out the potential new job role, you can include it. An example is where a Catholic school teacher must be Catholic to apply for the job.

You must also ensure that you do not dismiss your employees if they are still working for you simply because they ask you to provide a job reference. If you do, this could result in an employment tribunal claim for unfair dismissal.

Key Takeaways

As an employer, whilst you are not always legally required to provide a staff reference, it is good practice to provide them. You should know what to include and, more importantly, what you must not include. For example, you may wish to include character information in a detailed reference but must not include personal information regarding any of the nine protected characteristics under discrimination law. 

If you need help understanding staff references in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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