References

Employee references

Any job offer should be made conditional upon receiving satisfactory references.

Checking references is usually done at or near the end of the interview process. When you've reached the stage where you're close to making a decision, ask the applicant to supply a few references, one of which should be from their previous employer.

The applicant will need to give their old employer their consent to send a reference to you. They could either send the consent themselves or give you the written consent to enclose with a letter you can send to their old employer.

Ask the referee factual questions about the applicant's previous or existing job, such as the job and position they held, and their length of service, main duties and responsibilities, timekeeping, attendance and their attitude towards work and the business.

Checking references

It may be time consuming, but you should thoroughly check references to ensure you're taking on the right person for the job. Even if the references are glowing, you should check if they are real as it's not unknown for applicants to fake references and qualifications.

• Ask to see originals of training certificates and (if this is the applicant's first job) try to speak to the education institution that they attended.
• Check CVs for gaps in their employment. Job lengths can be extended to cover mistakes or to try to cover up jobs that went wrong. So you should check the names and dates of their previous employment.
• If the job involves working with children or vulnerable adults, speak to 2 character references who are independent of the applicant's family. You must also check if the applicant has any criminal records.
• References from past employers usually leave out details that they were not happy with and could have been seen and approved by the applicant before you see it. If you believe there may be gaps or things that are unsaid, sometimes a telephone call to them may uncover more information.

Contacting previous employers

If you telephone them, make it clear that you are speaking in complete confidence, and as a fellow employer, you would appreciate their honesty.

It's useful to have prepared a list of questions or points that you want to discuss, such as:

• How long did the applicant work for them and what were their duties?
• What did they most like about the applicant and least like about them?
• Did the applicant take any sick days, and how many?
• How was the applicant's timekeeping?
• How did the applicant cope with any busy periods of work?
• What was the quality of the applicant's work?
• Was the applicant honest?
• Would you re-employ the applicant?

If you find that the referee becomes less forthcoming on certain points, you could press them if you feel they are holding any information back or make a note of it as a potential risk.