What is a reference letter?
Reference letters provide information about a departing staff member’s previous role, including job title and dates of employment. They may also include further details such as the staff member’s skills and achievements. Satisfactory employer references are often required during recruitment processes.
Do I have to provide reference letters for departing staff members?
You are not obliged to provide reference letters for departing staff members, unless it is specified in a staff member’s contract that you must do so, there is an implied term in a staff member’s contract that you must do so (eg if your organisation always provides references), or you operate within the financial services sector and are required to provide a regulatory reference. This means that, generally, you can refuse to give a reference if asked for one.
However, you should bear in mind that 
the reference that you write can be basic and short, and it will often be in your interests to give one, even if the staff member was bad at their job.
What happens if I refuse to provide a reference letter?
If you refuse to give a reference, your former staff member may not be offered the job they are applying for, which may make them more likely to consider a legal claim against you for (eg discrimination or unfair dismissal). Even if you are certain you followed the correct dismissal procedure, it is obviously preferable to avoid dealing with a claim.
If you pick and choose which members of staff you provide references for, you open the door to a potential discrimination claim; such claims can be brought even if your refusal to give a reference happens after the member of staff has left your employment. For example, if you have provided references in the past where dismissal is due to poor performance, but refuse to give a reference on the one occasion that the ex-staff member is a woman, she might claim you discriminated against her on the grounds of her sex. You can avoid this possibility entirely by having a company policy of giving references on request to all staff, regardless of how their employment ended.
Do I have to give staff a copy of the reference I have written about them?
No, you do not have to. Although, under data protection law, your staff have a general right of access to personal data that you hold about them, you are not required to provide copies of references about them that you have obtained from or given to another business.
You can show the staff member if you wish, but given that most references will be a bare factual summary, there will not usually be much to show.
What should I include in reference letters for departing staff members?
There is no obligation to give a full, detailed or comprehensive reference. The only requirement is to take care that what you say is true, accurate and fair, and if you do give an opinion about the staff member you must have a proper and legitimate basis for any opinion expressed. If you say something false or misleading and either the staff member or new employer loses out as a result, you could face a legal claim for those losses.
It is therefore safest and easiest to say as little as possible, and stick to the bare facts. Most employers only give a factual reference, stating only the staff member’s job title and dates of employment.
If you wish to give a fuller reference because you are confident that doing so will not present you with problems, the following matters are commonly included:
- time working for you;
- positions held within your business;
- capability (in relation to the job);
- timekeeping;
- reasons for leaving; and
- any long periods of absence such as sick leave.
Our Reference Template
You can use our Reference Template to easily generate brief or detailed reference letters for departing staff.
The content in this article is up to date at the date of publishing. The information provided is intended only for information purposes, and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Sparqa Legal’s Terms of Use apply.
Becca joined Sparqa Legal as a Legal Editor in 2024 after transferring from FromCounsel. She previously worked as a caseworker at Advocate, the bar’s pro bono charity. Becca regularly writes for Sparqa’s blog, covering topics including employment, health and safety, intellectual property, and company law.