The employment history and reference checks standard outlines the mandated requirements for seeking references and verifying employment history in the NHS, and highlights recommended good practice. This Standard is just one of the six documents which form the NHS Employment Check Standards which were published in March 2008.
The NHS Employment Check Standards were further reviewed in July 2010 following consultation with key partners to assure their fitness for purpose.
If you have any queries that are not already covered in the frequently asked questions section below, please email employmentchecks@nhsemployers.org
Frequently asked questions:
Q1. Is there a nationally agreed reference template which can be used in the NHS?
Q2. What period of time should references cover and how many should be sought?
Q3. What happens if the candidate has had more than two employers within that three year period?
Q4. What should I do if the applicant has had a number of very short term positions?
Q5. What happens if the candidate has not been in employment for a number of years?
Q6. Can electronic references by accepted?
Q7. The standard makes reference to the use of a financial check, what is this?
Q8. Are financial checks a mandatory requirement in the NHS?
Q9. How do you obtain a financial check?
Q10. Can you employ someone who has financial debt?
Q11. When can a personal reference be accepted?
Q12. Is it appropriate to ask for payment for providing employer references?
Q1. Is there a nationally agreed reference template which can be used in the NHS?
No, there isn’t a standard template but NHS employers might find it useful to refer to the CIPD website for good practice guidance when designing or reviewing their reference questions.
Q2. What period of time should references cover and how many should be sought?
Employers need to verify at least three years of employment/training history. Ideally, this should include a period which covers two separate employers (where possible), one of which should be their current or most recent employer. Where an individual has been with one employer for five years or more, one reference may be sufficient. Likewise, where an individual is changing positions within the same organisation, employers should make a judgement as to how many references are appropriate to take up based on the relevance to the position and if they would add valuable information. Employers should also use their discretion when taking up references for volunteers, work experience or student placements.
Explanations should be sought in relation to any gaps in employment at interview e.g. training, periods abroad of more than 3 months, maternity leave etc.
Q3. What happens if the candidate has had more than two employers within that three year period?
If an individual has had more than two different employers in the immediate preceding three years then it is recommended that you seek additional references. The more information you can obtain through references, the better picture you can build up about your prospective employee.
Q4. What should I do if the applicant has had a number of very short term positions?
Generally speaking, the main reason for frequent job moves is because the individual has either been working with an agency, or they have been on placement as part of a training programme. Employers should make a judgement as to whether taking up references from all employers in that three year period would be relevant to the position being applied for and would add valuable information. The recommendation in the case of an agency worker is that employers seek references from the agency; if the individual is on a training programme e.g. in the case of a doctor on rotational training, then the recommendation is that you obtain a reference from the lead employer, and/or relevant academic institution.
Any period which highlights a number of unexplained frequent moves should be further investigated in case there is some other underlying reason such as poor practice or disciplinary action.
Q5. What happens if the applicant has not been in employment for a number of years?
Where an individual has not been employed for a considerable amount of time but has had previous employment, then you should seek one reference from their last known employer and a personal reference from a person of some standing in their community, e.g. their doctor, solicitor, or MP etc.
Where it is genuinely not possible to obtain any employer references because they have sought employment late in life, for example, then you should obtain two personal references.
Where no personal references can be obtained, references may be sought from personal acquaintances. not related to or involved in any financial arrangement with the individual.
Where they have been in full time education, a reference should be sought from the relevant academic institution.
Q6. Can electronic references be accepted?
The majority of job applications for the NHS are advertised and processed using the NHS Jobs service. Employers are in compliance with the NHS Employment Check Standards where using the NHS Jobs online reference request tool, the email must be a bone fide company email address which can be verified through the system and contain an electronic signature (name and position of the referee, company switchboard number and company address).
Q7. The standard makes reference to obtaining a financial check, what is this?
Financial checks can provide details about many different aspects of a person’s financial background. Types of checks include:
- Credit information listed at the applicant’s current and previous addresses including County Court Judgements (CCJs), insolvencies, bankruptcies etc
- A credit history report from a credit reference agency
UK Directors search, to ascertain whether the applicant holds any current or previous directorships or any disqualified directorships
- Searches against the Financial Service Authority’s (FSA) Individual Register and Prohibited Persons Register.
For sensitive positions, you may wish to include relevant questions on the application form such as ‘have you ever been the subject of a County Court Judgement (CCJ)?’
Q8. Are financial checks mandatory in the NHS?
No. It is important to point out that interpreting the security implications of financial information is not straightforward and is not seen as a core aspect of pre-employment screening, it will require a far greater degree of judgement than the other pre-employment checks outlined within the NHS Employment Check Standards and is dealt with more fully in National Security Vetting and other specialised screening assessment methods.
Normally financial checks are carried out to investigate the financial background of potential employees who are being appointed into a position of trust e.g. chief executives, board director levels, or posts which involve the management or handling of organisational budgets and monies.
Financial checks may also be used to provide further confirmation of an individual’s address and, dependent on the type of check, can be used to check for a fraudulent past or bad habit such as gambling, drink or drug abuse.
Employers will need to make judgement as to whether a financial check is appropriate for the post being applied for against the roles and responsibilities of the job, and identify any risks of fraudulent activity against the organisation.
Q9. How do you obtain a financial check?
Enquiries may be conducted in a number of ways including:
- As part of an electronic identity search whereby a number of companies can run a search on an individual’s details across financial service/credit databases. Which, combined with verifying a applicant’s identity, enables the employer to discover any relevant financial data held against the individual’s details
- Credit reference agencies can provide individual credit reports
- Commercial pre-employment businesses can offer financial reports either as a stand alone report, or combined with other services such as identity, employment and qualification searches.
There are three main credit agencies that make available public information such as Electoral Roll, County Court Judgements (CCJs), and payment history data. These are:
Please note that NHS Employers accepts no responsibility for any content on the above websites, nor do we recommend or endorse specific companies to the NHS, decisions to use any of their financial services should be down to local tender.
Q10. Can you employ someone who has financial debt?
It is essential to point out that debt in itself does not necessarily present a security problem, depending on an individual’s circumstances and their ability to repay the debt. If there are concerns, such as defaults, bad payment history or CCJs, employers must sensitively discuss these with the applicant before making any judgement as to whether allowing them to take up the position being applied for would pose any risks to the organisation.
Q11. When can a personal reference be accepted?
Where an individual is genuinely unable to provide you with employer references, you should request them to provide you with two personal references from a person of some standing in their community who has known them for three years or longer. Although not an exhaustive list, please refer to the
‘person of standing’ list for an indication of the type of person employers can accept a personal reference from.
If the individual cannot provide you with two personal references, references may be sought from personal acquaintances. Personal acquaintances must not be related to or involved in any financial arrangement with the individual.
Where the individual is unable to provide employer references because they have just come out of education (school, college, university) then the employer should obtain one reference from the academic institution and one personal reference either from a person from some standing in their community or a personal acquaintance as described above.
Q12. Is it appropriate to ask for payment for providing employer references?
Charging to provide employer references is not in line with normal NHS practice, nor would it be recommended as good practice. Employer’s may adopt a policy of providing a bare minimum reference i.e. confirming employment dates and the position held etc. However, if this approach is adopted, the policy should be applied and communicated to all employees.