References – Are They Obsolete? Article from Ten Percent Legal Recruitment, specialists for the permanent recruitment of solicitors and legal staff in the UK.
Talk to any employer and you’ll hear the same refrain: references are increasingly bland, often limited to dates and job titles. It has become a bit of a competition amongst certain HR departments to give as little information as possible. Interim Lawyers (our locum platform) requests references from a wide range of firms on a daily basis and we see the full range. The vast majority of references simply confirm that a person worked for a firm between two dates with a job title, and thats the lot.
There is an assumption, long established, that a referee owes a duty of care to the reference subject to take reasonable care in preparing a reference. The general guidance on writing them is that the reference must be ‘true, accurate and fair overall’ and not give a misleading impression even if individual statements are correct. We understand that employers are not under a legal obligation to provide a reference at all unless there is a contractual provision.
Are references obsolete yet?
Not at all. They can be incredibly useful for verifying the accuracy of a CV. A minimal reference (very common) will always confirm the dates that someone worked at a firm, their name and their job title. As an absolute minimum it can serve as a check on recent employment history.
What they don’t tend to do is give any idea of how someone is going to perform in a new role. It is important to remember that a reference is not a warranty of future performance; it’s a snapshot of past facts.
How Are References Used?
Most employers use them as a tick box exercise. Professional indemnity insurance policies sometimes include contractual provisions to say that firms have to hold 2 references on files for all consultants and employees. Quite a lot of the time they sit alongside right-to-work, DBS checks, social media & internet sweeps, skills testing and a probation period (3 months is the norm but we are increasingly seeing 6 months in contracts).
Locums can struggle to get them. Firms are very often reluctant to provide references for locum assignments, simply because they are a) worried they are going to be bombarded forever by potential future hirers and b) the locums are contracting on a business to business basis, so references are more like testimonials. The relationship is outside the usual employment arrangement, so there are differing expectations.
Contents of a Good Reference
We see the following in a good factual reference.
1. Identity and chronology
Full name, role(s), employment status (employee/contractor/partner), start and end dates.
A bonus extra would be a brief description of responsibilities or practice area (eg claimant PI litigator; conveyancing fee-earner handling c. 60 files).
2. Performance and conduct
Useful to see, but fairly rare. If you comment, you must ensure the opinion is genuinely held, based on substantiated facts, and presented fairly.
3. Attendance record
This is the bit we are always interested in as employers, but also the section that quite often is missing from references!
4. Disclaimer
Usually added to all corporate references – reference given in good faith, no liability, provision of information does not imply negative or positive comment, etc etc.
If you want to write a negative reference, how do you do it lawfully?
Not recommended at all. We occasionally see them – comments such as “George is a nice chap, but we felt unable to allow him to see clients.” “Margaret was very good at her file work, provided she had sufficient secretarial, paralegal and assistant solicitor support.” It is much more rare to see “we have had a horrendous experience with Fred – we think he may have a drink problem.” We think employers are on safer ground simply by adopting the approach all the large corporates do – name, job title, dates and thats the lot.
Are references obsolete?
No, but they have become a lot less important. They should really only be used to confirm dates and job titles, rather than to assess how good someone has been in a role. Work tests, probation periods, social media and internet checks are all very good ways of assessing candidates and can all be effectively used alongside references. Personal references tend to be really valued; if you have a reference from someone writing in a personal capacity, they can be so much more relevant and interesting. Line managers are particularly good at writing references from the heart and can really assist with the process.
