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November 14 2019

Proposals for ‘compulsory’ references from former employers put forward

The UK’s Business Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, has put forward proposals that could make it illegal for businesses to withhold references for former employees.

The proposals are a bid to stop businesses using ‘nasty tactics’ and protect individuals who have faced harassment or discrimination.

As reported in People Management magazine, Leadsom said the proposals would “ensure individuals are protected, striking a fair balance between the interests of employers and workers”.

Adding, “we cannot tolerate the small minority [of employers] that use nasty tactics like non-disclosure agreements and withholding references to pressure employees into silence, often in cases of serious wrongdoing.”

If agreed, it would mean that for the first time ever, employers would be obliged to provide at least a basic reference for any former employee.

Demand for employment references continues to soar, as more organisations see the benefits of verifying their candidates’ employment history.

Hand in hand, employers continue to seek solutions to automate mundane tasks such as the issuing of reference letters to other employers or lenders.

“Systems like WorkPass which handle employment and income verification requests on behalf of employers, eliminate the need for HR teams to issue them directly. WorkPass also add a level of GDPR compliance that manual processes cannot rival.”

WorkPass is a free service that Verifile offers to our clients.

If you’d like to talk to us about how WorkPass can free up your HR team’s time, contact your account manager or our sales team at +44 (0) 1234 60 80 90.