GUIDANCE ON PROVIDING REFERENCES
1.
Aim of the Guidelines

To assist managers in providing references for current and past employees.

To outline legal requirements and best practice for compiling references
2.
Who can provide a reference on behalf of the Trust?

References should be given by a person with management or professional responsibility for a
service in which the individual works (or worked), or with a responsibility for their personal
development

References provided by anyone else are given in a personal capacity, and therefore should
not be written on Trust headed paper.
3.
Legal Obligations
There is no legal obligation to provide a reference if asked, however managers should respond to all
reference requests for the following reasons:


4.
NHS Employers has issued new guidance “Safer Recruitment – A Guide for NHS employers”
which states that NHS organisations should provide written references to other NHS
employers on request.
Refusal to provide an employee or former employee with a reference could lead to a
discrimination claim
Duty of Care
When providing a reference, managers have a duty of care:
5.

To the person they provide the reference to

To the employee who is the subject of the reference
Content of References
5.1



References should be compiled by managers in good faith, and must be:
Honest, accurate and fair
Made with reasonable care
Include an assessment of job-related competency if asked to do so by the prospective
employer
An NHS Teaching Trust with the University of Southampton
Trust Headquarters, Maples, Horseshoe Drive, Tatchbury Mount, Calmore, Southampton SO40 2RZ
5.2
When given a pro-forma, please complete this. If no format or headings are provided, the
reference should normally include:

Job Title

Length of employment in the post

Brief outline of the duties undertaken in the post

Details of any additional roles or responsibilities assumed by the individual
5.3
Commenting on personal qualities
Managers should avoided commenting on personal qualities where possible. When comments
are made, managers should:
5.4

ensure that these are balanced, fair and accurate

never raise an issue which has not previously been discussed with the employee
Personal Opinions
Opinions should be avoided in references unless referees are explicitly requested to provide one,
and not doing so could be misinterpreted. Where an opinion is given it should be expressly stated
that this is the opinion of the author.
5.5
Sickness
If a reference asks for sickness information, please include the number of episodes as well as the
number of days sickness over the specified period. Reasons for sickness absence can only be
disclosed with the employee’s consent.
5.6
Information about Criminal Convictions
No information should be disclosed about criminal convictions in a reference.
employers require this information, it is their duty to obtain it via a CRB disclosure.
6.
Should future
Inaccurate or misleading references
If an inaccurate, misleading or defamatory reference is provided, the Trust could be the subject of
legal action and may be liable to pay damages to the employee/ new employer.
7.
Oral References:
If an oral reference is given, full notes of the conversation should be kept on the employee’s personal
file.
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8.
Disciplinary Action / Formal Investigations
Sometimes an employee may resign before completion of a formal investigation. In these
circumstances, the employee should be advised that the investigation will be completed in their
absence. Employees need to be made aware that if they leave during an investigation, this will be
included in any future reference.
If you receive a reference request, you should state that the individual resigned from the organisation
during an ongoing disciplinary investigation into a matter of misconduct/gross misconduct. You
should also comment on any findings of the investigation and whether or not the employee denied the
allegations.
If an employee is referred to their regulatory body following an investigation, they must be informed of
this, even if they are no longer employed by the Trust, and the matter should be included in the
reference.
In cases of fraud, an individual may not be aware of an investigation, however, provided that a formal
investigation is underway, this information may be included in the reference.
Where a formal investigation has not been started, the manager should not raise any concerns or
issues in the reference, unless these have previously been discussed with the employee.
9.
Data Protection Act 1998 / individual requests to see references

Mark references as “private and confidential, between the author and addressee only”

Employees do not have the right to access a confidential reference whilst it remains in the
hands of the organisation / manager who wrote it

Once the recipient has the reference, the individual may request to see it

To avoid this situation arising, where possible share references with individuals
Further Sources of information:
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
www.cipd.co.uk
NHS Employers – Guide to safer recruitment
http://www.nhsemployers.org/docs/saferrecruitmentguide.pdf
Information Commissioner
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
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