HIRING UK Post a job

← Back to the toolbox

HIRING UK
HIRINGUK LTD · Company number 17414012
270 Slade Road, Birmingham, England, B23 7LX
hello@hiringuk.co.uk · www.hiringuk.co.uk
Version 1.0

REFERENCE REQUEST

Sent only after the candidate has agreed, in writing · Regulations 19 and 22, Conduct Regulations 2003

Do not send this until the candidate has agreed, in writing, and record that they did. A reference is personal data about them, they can ask to see what was said, and contacting a current employer without permission has cost people their jobs. Section 6 of the registration form is where that permission lives.

Dear ______________________,

HIRINGUK LTD has been asked to supply the person below for temporary work, and they have given us your name as a referee. We are an employment business. Regulation 22 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 requires us to take up references for work of this kind, and we take two for any driving role.

Candidate: _______________________________________________
Role they are being considered for: _________________________________________________
Dates they say they worked with you: ______________ to ______________

What we are asking

Five questions, and you may answer as few as you wish. A short answer is more use to us than a long one, and a factual reference is perfectly acceptable: many employers give nothing beyond dates and job title as a matter of policy, and we will not read anything into that.

  1. Are the dates and the job title above correct?   Yes / No / __________________
  2. What did the work actually involve? _____________________________________________
  3. Was their attendance and timekeeping reliable? __________________________________
  4. Is there anything about health and safety, conduct or honesty that an employer would need to know before this person works on their site? ______________________
  5. Would you take them on again?   Yes / No / Not applicable

For driving roles only

  1. Any accidents, damage or infringements while they drove for you, and the outcome? _____________________________________________________________________
  2. Which vehicles and what kind of work? ___________________________________________

Three things you should know before you answer

  • The candidate has agreed to us asking you. We do not contact a referee before they have.
  • They can ask to see what you wrote. A reference is their personal data, and a subject access request can reach it. Employers sometimes assume a reference is confidential from the person it is about. Largely, it is not.
  • We will not pass your answers to our client. The client is told the outcome, which is that references were taken and were satisfactory, or that they were not. Your words stay with us.

Your name: ______________________________________   Position: ____________________
Company: ______________________________________   Date: ______________
Signed: ______________________________________

Please return to hello@hiringuk.co.uk. Held for two years after the introduction or after the engagement ends, whichever is later, then destroyed. If you would rather speak than write, ring us and we will write down what you say, read it back to you, and send you the note.

HIRINGUK LTD, company number 17414012. Reference request, version 1.0. Reviewed at least once a year and whenever the law changes. © HIRINGUK LTD. This document is issued under Regulations 19 and 22, Conduct Regulations 2003.

Print this document Key information document, PAYE Terms of engagement, temporary worker Terms of business with the client Assignment confirmation Weekly timesheet, driving Holiday: how it builds up, how it is paid, how to book it Appropriate policy document: health and criminal record data Candidate registration and consent Mobile worker declaration: work you do for anybody else Sickness self certification Driver infringements, and how we handle them Legitimate interests assessment Worker handbook