Reference Requests: What HR Can Say, and What to Record
A reference can help a former employee or expose you to a claim. How to handle reference requests consistently: who gives them, what to say, and what to keep on file.
A new employer calls about someone who left last year. What can you say? The safe general principles hold in most places: a reference should be true, accurate and fair, based on documented facts, given by an authorised person, and recorded. Beyond that, the rules vary. Some jurisdictions require references in certain sectors, some restrict what can be disclosed, and some give former employees rights to see what was said. Check yours before setting a policy.
Decide who gives references
The biggest risk is not HR; it is a former manager giving an off-the-record opinion on the phone. Set a clear rule:
- Formal references come from HR or a named role, not from any colleague who is asked.
- Managers who want to give a personal reference make clear it is personal and not on behalf of the organisation, if your policy allows that at all.
- Requests are passed to HR, not answered on the spot.
Choose a reference format
Most organisations use one of two formats:
- Factual only: dates of employment, job title, sometimes salary or reason for leaving if agreed. Low risk and consistent.
- Full reference: adds performance, conduct and suitability. More useful to the recipient, more risk to you if not grounded in records.
Whichever you choose, apply it consistently. Giving glowing full references to some and bare factual ones to others invites the inference that the bare ones hide something.
Base every statement on the file
If a reference mentions performance or conduct, it should match what the employee's records show. Mentioning a disciplinary warning that was never formally issued, or a performance concern that was never raised with the employee, is where references go wrong. The records described in disciplinary procedure records and performance improvement plan records are what a fair reference is built from. Absence and health information is especially sensitive; in many jurisdictions it should not be shared without consent, so treat it with care, as discussed in absence and sickness records.
Verify the requester
Confirm the request is genuine before answering: a written request on the organisation's letterhead or from a verifiable address, or a call back to the organisation's main number. Many policies also require the former employee's consent before a reference is given. Record that consent.
What to record
- Who asked, from which organisation, when and how
- Evidence of the employee's consent, if your policy requires it
- The exact reference given, in writing, even if it was also discussed on the phone
- Who gave it and who approved it
File this with the employee's leaver record. If the reference is challenged, the question will be what you said and what it was based on.
Settlement agreements and agreed references
Where an employment ended by agreement, the terms may include an agreed reference text. Flag that clearly on the file so whoever answers the next request uses the agreed wording and nothing else.
Keep only what you need
Reference requests can arrive years after someone leaves. Keep the minimum to answer them, such as dates and job titles, under your retention schedule, and dispose of the rest when its time comes.
