References
This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Recruitment and Selection Policy –
see section on ‘References’.
References provide valuable information about a candidate’s suitability for employment and are a
crucial part of the pre-employment checking process. DMU’s policy is that all offers of appointment
are made conditional on the receipt of written references that are satisfactory to the university.
This guidance covers the following areas:
Definitions ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Obtaining consent ......................................................................................................................... 2
Obtaining consent to request a reference................................................................................ 2
Obtaining consent to provide a reference................................................................................ 2
Requesting a reference ................................................................................................................. 2
Suitable referees ........................................................................................................................ 3
Telephone references ................................................................................................................ 3
Reliability and validity ................................................................................................................ 3
Ambiguous or unsatisfactory references................................................................................. 4
Withdrawing a job offer ................................................................................................................. 4
Providing a reference .................................................................................................................... 4
Providing a written reference .................................................................................................... 5
Providing an oral reference (eg over the telephone) ............................................................... 6
Disclosing unfavourable information in a reference ............................................................... 6
Data protection............................................................................................................................... 7
Definitions
In this guidance the following terminology is used:
‘Candidate’ or ‘the individual’
The person who is the subject of the reference. They may be
a current or former employee of DMU or a candidate who has
been shortlisted for interview with, or has a conditional offer of
employment from, DMU.
‘Referee’
The person who has been asked to provide a reference, or
the author of the reference, whether provided by a DMU staff
member or another employer.
‘Prospective employer’
An employer who has approached someone within DMU to
provide a reference for a current or former staff member of
DMU.
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Obtaining consent
Obtaining consent to request a reference
1.1
In accordance with the policy, references will only be sought in advance of a conditional
offer being made where the candidate has provided their express written consent ie on the
application form. For professional services posts, references are only requested once a
conditional offer has been made; for academic appointments the practice is to seek
references before the interview where the candidate has consented.
1.2
Once a conditional offer has been made (including verbal offers) the Chair of the panel
should seek the consent of the candidate to contact their referees. The Chair should make a
written record of the request and the candidate’s response which should be forwarded to
HR as confirmation of consent. Alternatively, if the candidate has signed a consent form,
this should be returned to HR. See Form.
1.3
References should not be requested without the individual’s knowledge and consent – to do
so might cause them considerable embarrassment. Further, it is not acceptable to make
‘informal enquires' about a prospective employee, whether on the telephone or in writing,
without their knowledge or consent.
1.4
It is permissible to seek clarification of a reference already received – see also telephone
references.
Obtaining consent to provide a reference
1.5
Providing a reference is likely to involve processing personal data under the Data Protection
Act 1998. Therefore, DMU must satisfy one of the conditions required for processing data
as set out in sch.2 to the Act. In relation to a reference, the most likely condition to apply is
that the individual has consented to the data being processed.
1.6
The prospective employer might enclose a photocopy of the individual's signed consent to
its seeking the reference in the reference request. This will normally be sufficient for DMU to
process the personal data. In the absence of evidence that the individual has consented,
the referee should contact the individual to confirm that they are happy for a reference to be
provided. Consent should be obtained in writing if possible, or a written record made of the
individual’s verbal consent. See Form.
1.7
The referee must not provide sensitive personal data in a reference, for example information
about the individual’s health, race, religion, sexual orientation or trade union membership,
without first obtaining the individual’s explicit consent. To obtain the individual’s explicit
consent, the referee should write to the individual, clearly stating: why it wishes to process
the data; the specific information to be processed; to whom the data will be provided; and
for what purpose the information will be provided.
2.
Requesting a reference
2.1
A reference request should seek the following information:
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Employment history of the candidate
Qualifications
Length of employment with their previous employer
Job title and brief overview of their responsibilities
Skills and abilities and overall performance
Assessment of their suitability for the post in question
Time-keeping, absence record and conduct
Reason for leaving.
2.2
For candidates whose job will involve any aspect of finance, the reference should also ask a
question about the candidate’s honesty and integrity.
2.3
The university has standard templates for seeking references on the intranet.
2.4
The reference request will include a copy of the job description and person specification for
the post.
Suitable referees
2.5
DMU will normally only accept employment references from current and former employers.
2.6
If the candidate is a school leaver or recent graduate and/or has no employment history
they can provide the name of a teacher or lecturer, or another referee acceptable to the
university.
2.7
Personal referees should be avoided where possible as they are unlikely to be able to
provide the objective information identified at paragraph 2.1 which is required by the
university as a prospective employer of the candidate.
2.8
The Recruitment and Selection Policy sets out the university’s requirements for acceptable
referees.
2.9
References should be requested and confirmed in writing.
Telephone references
2.10 Telephone references are permissible (if the candidate has consented to their referees
being contacted); however, taking up oral references requires interviewing skills, time and
resources (frequently reserved for more senior posts). In line with the policy, a telephone
reference must be confirmed in writing before any conditional offer is considered satisfied. If
seeking a telephone reference, the reference request letter template should be used as a
guide for questions to ask.
Reliability and validity
2.11 It needs to be remembered that references are not entirely reliable measures of predicting
future performance and recruiting managers should consider the information in the
reference in the wider context of other evidence obtained about the candidate throughout
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the selection process.
Ambiguous or unsatisfactory references
2.12 If a reference is ambiguous or otherwise unclear, the recruiting manager should not draw
negative conclusions about the candidate. Instead they should take steps to check what the
referee meant, perhaps by telephoning to ask for clarification. Details of any telephone
discussions should be recorded and the record provided to HR.
2.13 If a reference is unsatisfactory, the following should be considered:
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Is the information provided factual, rather than ‘opinion’ (it should not be automatically
assumed that the information is accurate). The information may have been given as a
result of bias or personal dislike, or may be based on a misunderstanding or something
outside the candidate’s control.
Is the information relevant and if so does it render the candidate unsuitable for the
employment in question?
Are the job duties of the previous post similar to the post the candidate is being
considered for?
2.14 Recruiting managers should remain open-minded when reviewing references and should
not be too quick to pass judgment on a candidate about whom negative information has
been received. They should explore the issue further with the referee and the candidate and
take a reasoned decision as to what the truth is and the degree to which it is relevant to the
job role offered and the candidate’s employment with the university.
2.15 Where there is a concern about the candidate’s attendance record, particularly in relation to
sickness absence, care needs to be taken to ensure that the candidate is not being treated
unfavourably because of a disability or because of pregnancy-related absence. Seek advice
from HR and, where necessary, Occupational Health.
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Withdrawing a job offer
If an ambiguous or unsatisfactory reference is received and discussions with both the
referee and the candidate do not provide sufficient reassurance, the job offer will normally
be withdrawn. However, there might be limited circumstances where the candidate is able to
provide the name of another referee eg where there is good reason to believe the referee
has acted in bad faith.
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Providing a reference
4.1
It is important to note that staff members who are providing a reference for an individual are
acting on behalf of DMU and owe a duty of care to the prospective employer. There is no
requirement for a reference to be full and comprehensive but the information provided must
be true, accurate and fair, and should not give a misleading impression. DMU could be
subject to legal proceedings if it provides a negligent or careless reference which
subsequently results in financial loss to the prospective employer.
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4.2
DMU also owes a duty of care to the individual to take reasonable care in the preparation of
the reference to ensure it is neither inaccurate nor misleading. When providing a reference it
is important to ensure that information is factual and accurate and is not influenced by
personal opinion. Before a reference is given the employee should be asked to provide
written consent by signing the consent form. The completed consent form should be
returned to HR.
4.3
Where the reference request is for an individual who has entered into a settlement
agreement with the university (called ‘compromise agreements’ before 29 July 2013), the
referee must seek advice from HR before responding to the reference request. This is
because the specific wording of any future reference may have been agreed between the
parties as part of the settlement agreement.
4.4
In accordance with 7.1 of DMU’s Anti-fraud Policy, any request for a reference for a member
of staff who has been disciplined or prosecuted for fraud shall be referred to the Director of
People and Organisational Development (POD) who shall take advice from the Clerk to the
Board.
Providing a written reference
4.5
A prospective employer requesting a reference may ask specific questions or for a standard
form to be completed. If the reference request is not in a prescribed format, then a written
reference should include factual information only and should not include any personal views
or opinions about the individual’s performance or conduct that cannot be backed up by
evidence.
4.6
Examples of factual information that could be included are:
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4.7
The dates the individual’s employment with DMU began and ended (if applicable)
Job title (or former job title).
Short description of their main duties / level of responsibility.
Where relevant, if the individual had responsibility for staff, money, equipment, computer
operations, etc.
Any jobs the individual held with DMU and how long they performed those jobs.
Information about the individual’s attendance record. This should be factual information
only ie the number of days’ absence over the last 12 months of employment. It should
not include any information about the reasons for any absence.
If applicable, their reason for leaving. Again, factual information only eg ‘resignation’,
‘retirement’, ‘redundancy’, ‘temporary contract ended’, ‘dismissal’ etc.
References should be marked ‘confidential’ and for the attention of the addressee only. This
helps to protect DMU from potential claims and also adheres to the Data Protection Act
1998 which restricts the ability of individuals to see references where they are given in
confidence by their ex-employer. See also Data protection.
A sample letter template is available on the intranet.
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Providing an oral reference (eg over the telephone)
4.8
If a DMU staff member is approached to provide a telephone reference for an individual, it is
important to verify that the individual has consented to the reference being requested and
that the person asking for the reference is a prospective employer before any reference is
given. This may require the staff member to take details from the person making the request
and to fix a time to speak to them once consent has been clearly established.
4.9
It is vitally important that the referee makes a full and accurate written record of the
telephone reference given and that the note of the reference is provided to HR to be placed
in the individual’s personnel file.
Disclosing unfavourable information in a reference
4.10 If the content of the reference is likely to contain unfavourable information, it is important
that the referee seeks advice from HR before responding either orally or in writing. For
example, where the individual was dismissed for misconduct or left voluntarily before the
conclusion of disciplinary proceedings.
4.11 Before divulging any unfavourable information in a reference, the university must make sure
it genuinely believes the information to be true, has reasonable grounds for that belief and
has investigated the matter. In addition, the reference should not disclose information that is
unknown to the individual eg if the unfavourable information has not been communicated to
the individual. An example might be where the individual had been allowed to resign in
circumstances where they would otherwise have been subject to disciplinary proceedings
for dishonesty which may have led to their dismissal. If the individual had not been made
aware of the allegations during their employment with DMU and these had not been subject
to a proper investigation, it would be unfair to refer to them in a reference. Where
disciplinary proceedings had started but had not been completed before the individual
resigned, any statement about the proceedings in a reference must make it clear that the
disciplinary process was incomplete.
4.12 As mentioned in 4.1, there is no obligation to give a full and comprehensive reference; the
obligation on DMU when providing a reference is to take reasonable care not to provide
misleading information about the individual by the unfair inclusion or omission of facts or
opinions so as to give a misleading impression to the prospective employer. For example,
where DMU is asked to provide a reference for someone who was dismissed for
misconduct, it would be misleading to provide a reference that included only positive
information. However, it would be acceptable to provide a short, factual reference which
confirms the individual’s employment at the university, the work they did and that the
employment was terminated, without any information as to the circumstances of the
dismissal as long as all the information provided is true.
4.13 It should be noted that including a disclaimer stating that the employer accepts no liability
for errors or omissions in the content of the reference may be effective in relation to claims
by the recipient of the reference, but it will not prevent claims from the individual unless they
have consented to the giving of a reference containing a disclaimer. There is no
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disadvantage to including a disclaimer to limit claim from the recipient of the reference but
even then, it will be effective only if it is reasonable. For example, if DMU would be expected
to have direct knowledge of the information included in the reference it will be unlikely to be
able to rely on a disclaimer to escape liability if the reference contains information that is not
true, accurate or fair.
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Data protection
5.1
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, if an employer provides a confidential employment
reference about an individual to a prospective employer, the employer is permitted to refuse
to disclose that reference to the individual if he or she requests to see it.
5.2
However, the same exemption is not available where the request to see the reference is
made by the individual to the prospective employer. In this case, the provisions in the Data
Protection Act 1998 are more complicated. Section 7 of the Act provides that the
prospective employer is not obliged to comply with the individual’s request unless either the
referee has consented to its disclosure or it is reasonable in all the circumstances to comply
with the request without the referee’s consent. In determining whether it is reasonable to
comply with the request without the referee’s consent, the prospective employer must
consider: any duty of confidentiality owed to the referee, any steps taken with a view to
seeking the referee’s consent; whether the referee is capable of giving consent; and any
express refusal of consent by the referee. In any event, this does not excuse the
prospective employer from disclosing as much of the reference as is possible without
revealing the identity of the referee, whether by the omission of the referee’s name or other
identifying particulars.
5.3
Where DMU is the prospective employer, references provided to DMU in respect of the
preferred candidate will be held on their personnel file, unless a decision has been made (in
accordance with 5.2) to withhold the reference from the individual.
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