How to Ask for a Reference (Email Templates and Examples)
What a UK employer must, may and must not put in a reference, whether they can refuse one, and how to see what yours says — plus complete worked request emails, including one to a manager who has left the company.
References are the last thing anyone thinks about and the only stage of a job application where someone else is doing the talking. The usual sequence is an offer arriving on a Thursday, a form asking for two referees by Monday, and a scramble through an old address book.
The avoidable part is not the scramble. It is that most people go into this stage without knowing what a UK employer is actually allowed to write about them, whether a former employer can simply refuse, or how to see what was said. That is where this starts, because it changes who you ask and what you ask for.
What a UK Employer Must, May and Must Not Say
Drawn from GOV.UK's guidance on work references and Acas's guidance on what employers can say in a reference.
Must
Be fair and accurate. GOV.UK: an employer "does not usually have to give a work reference – but if they do, it must be fair and accurate". Acas adds that where opinions are given, "there should be evidence to support the opinion".
May
Be very short. GOV.UK says a reference "can be brief – such as job title, salary and when you were employed". Acas calls this a basic reference: "a short summary of employment. For example, the employee's job title and the dates they worked there".
May
Be detailed. Acas lists job title, dates of employment, skills, ability and experience, any current relevant disciplinary records, and the reason for leaving. Sickness and absence records can be included, subject to discrimination law.
May
Say unwelcome things. GOV.UK states a reference "must be fair and accurate – and can include details about your performance and if you were sacked".
Must not
Be misleading, or include irrelevant personal information. Acas also excludes details of workplace adjustments, absence related to disability, adoption, maternity or paternity leave, and disciplinary records that are no longer current.
Must not
Discriminate. Acas: "The employer giving the reference should not include any information that could be used in a discriminatory way", across the protected characteristics including age, disability, pregnancy, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.
The practical consequence: a two-line reference confirming your title and dates is the normal output of a large employer's HR policy, not a verdict on you. If you want anything more than that said about your work, it has to come from a named individual who is willing to say it.
Can a Former Employer Simply Refuse?
In most cases, yes. Acas states that an employer does not have to give a reference by law, with three exceptions: where it was agreed "in writing that the employer will provide one – for example, in an employment contract"; "for certain financial services jobs regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)"; or where it was "agreed in some other circumstances – for example, as part of a settlement agreement". GOV.UK gives the same two main triggers: a written agreement, or a regulated industry such as financial services.
Acas also notes that where an employer has a reference policy, "this can restrict how much they include in a reference" and who is allowed to give one. That is worth checking before you name your old boss rather than after — plenty of managers are contractually barred from writing anything personal, however willing they are.
If you cannot get one, Acas suggests asking the prospective employer whether they will accept one of these alternatives:
- "a reference from someone else, for example a manager or someone you worked with"
- "a reference from a different employer"
- "a reference from someone you have not worked with but knows you well, sometimes called a personal or character reference"
If the old employer's policy allows only basic references, ask for exactly that — Acas's wording is "a brief written statement of your role and the dates you were employed". Acas adds that a new employer might instead offer a probationary period or a trial. Ask early enough that any of this is still possible: by the time an offer is conditional, you have days, not weeks.
Who to Ask, and When
The strongest referee is someone senior to you who watched your work over a sustained period and can describe it without notes. In rough order of weight: a former direct manager; a senior colleague or project lead who saw a specific piece of work closely; a client, for client-facing roles; a dissertation supervisor or tutor, for early-career applications; a character referee from a voluntary or community role, which employers in education, social care and the third sector do accept.
Peers who sat near you but did not see your output are weak choices, and friends and family are not referees unless they genuinely supervised your work.
On timing, I would ask at the point you decide you are looking, not at the point an employer asks. Two reasons. Your referee gets to consider it rather than answer a request marked urgent, and you find out now — rather than during a conditional offer — that one of your three has a company policy against detailed references.
Employers typically ask for two. Line up four who have said yes. The common failure is not refusal; it is an unanswered email while your offer sits conditional. If you are working a notice period at the same time, the rules on notice in the UK set the deadline you are working back from.
What Your Referee Will Actually Be Asked
Most people brief a referee without knowing what lands in their inbox. Acas publishes the reference request letter template that employers send, and it asks the referee to complete one of three options:
Option A — basic — The position held and the dates of employment. Nothing else.
Option B — detailed — Main duties held, salary, sickness record, disciplinary records, and the reason for leaving.
Option C — character — How the referee knows the applicant, how long they have known them, and a comment on "character, strengths and weaknesses".
The template also notes that the employer should have the applicant's permission before sending it, and that a referee is under no obligation to reply. Two useful facts: your referee is a volunteer at every stage, and "strengths and weaknesses" is a real prompt on a real form. Brief them on the second one rather than hoping.
Complete Request Emails
All names, companies and dates below are invented. They are written out in full rather than as bracketed blanks, because the hard part is the tone, not the structure.
1. A former manager who has left the company
The most common awkward case, and the one most templates ignore. Nadia Okoro is writing to Tom Brackley, who managed her until he moved to another employer. The message has to do something extra: separate what Tom can give from what his old company can.
Subject: Reference request — Nadia Okoro, Halden Logistics 2019–2023
Hi Tom,
I hope you are keeping well. I saw you had moved across to Brightmere last year — congratulations, it looked like a good move.
I am applying for operations manager roles at the moment, and I wanted to ask whether you would be willing to act as a reference for me. You managed me at Halden from March 2019 until you left in August 2023, which covers the depot consolidation and the year I ran the night shift, so you saw most of the work I am relying on.
Two things worth flagging, since you are no longer at Halden. Any reference would come from you personally rather than on Halden's behalf — Halden's HR team only confirm job titles and dates now, and I will request that from them separately, so nobody is expecting you to speak for the company. And a short written statement by email is fine; that is what most of the employers I have spoken to are asking for.
There is nothing to do at this stage. If you are happy to be named, I will send you the job description and give you warning before anyone contacts you.
Completely understood if you would rather not — no explanation needed.
Best wishes,
Nadia
07700 900412
Why this one is shaped like this:
- It names the period and the specific work, so Tom knows immediately whether he can speak to it
- It separates the personal reference from the company's factual one, which is the question he would otherwise have to ask
- It asks for nothing today, which is what makes a yes cheap to give
- It gives him an exit that costs him no explanation
If you no longer have a personal email address for them, a short LinkedIn message asking for one works better than a reference request sent cold through the platform — LinkedIn message templates covers the opener.
2. A former manager still at the company
Simpler, because the company reference and the personal one come from the same place. Ask about the policy while you are there.
Subject: Reference request — Nadia Okoro
Hi Priya,
I hope the new quarter is treating you kindly. I have started looking at operations manager roles, and I would like to ask whether you would be willing to act as one of my referees.
You line-managed me for two and a half years and signed off the depot consolidation plan, so you have seen the work I am putting forward — particularly the scheduling rebuild, which is what most of these adverts are really asking about.
One practical question: do you know whether Halden lets managers give a detailed reference, or is it dates and job title through HR? If it is the latter, I will name you as a personal referee instead and ask HR for the factual one.
Nothing needed now. I will send the job description and let you know before anyone gets in touch.
Thanks very much,
Nadia
3. An academic referee
For graduate schemes, research roles and early-career applications. Give more context than feels necessary: a tutor may have taught two hundred people since you.
Subject: Reference request — Daniel Ferreira, BSc Environmental Science 2024
Dear Dr Whitlock,
I hope this finds you well. I was one of your final-year students in 2023–24 — you supervised my dissertation on urban river restoration in the Aire catchment, which you marked at 74.
I am applying for the graduate environmental consultant scheme at Marrow & Deene, and I would be grateful if you would be willing to provide an academic reference. The scheme asks for evidence of independent fieldwork and written analysis, which is most of what the dissertation was.
I have attached my CV and the dissertation abstract in case they are useful. The closing date is 30 October, and references are requested only from shortlisted candidates, so this may come to nothing.
Thank you for your time either way.
Kind regards,
Daniel Ferreira
4. Reconnecting first, when it has been years
If you have not spoken in more than a year, send this and leave it a few days before the request itself. Combining the two is what makes the ask feel transactional.
Subject: Hello from Nadia (Halden)
Hi Tom,
It has been a while. I saw the Brightmere announcement and it looked like exactly the sort of thing you said you wanted to be doing.
I have been at Halden since you left, running nights and then the consolidation project, and I am starting to look at what is next. I would be glad of a catch-up if you have half an hour in the next couple of weeks — and I will be honest, I would also like to ask you something about references, but that can keep until we have spoken.
How have things been?
Best,
Nadia
Briefing Your Referee Once the Offer Is Real
A yes is not preparation. Once you reach the reference stage, send your referee the job description, your current CV, the two or three things you would most like mentioned, the format of the check, and when to expect contact. It takes five minutes and it is the difference between a warm reference and a vague one.
Subject: Reference update — Kettering Freight, Operations Manager
Hi Tom,
Good news: I have a conditional offer from Kettering Freight for their Operations Manager role. Their HR team will be in touch in the next week or so, by email, using a short form.
I have attached the job description and my CV. The two things I would most like them to hear about, if you are comfortable saying them, are the depot consolidation — because this role is essentially the same exercise across four sites — and how I handled the driver shortage in the winter of 2022, since the advert makes a lot of resilience planning.
One heads-up: the form may ask about strengths and weaknesses, so it is not only a dates-and-title exercise.
Any questions, ring me on 07700 900412. Thank you again — I do appreciate it.
Best,
Nadia
Brief, do not script. A referee reading from your words is obvious to anyone who has taken more than a few of these calls, and it undoes the credibility you asked them for in the first place.
If the Reference Is Unfair or Inaccurate
Acas sets out the order to work in if you get a bad reference.
- Talk to the new employer. Ask what their concerns are and address them — Acas's wording is to "show evidence if your reference was misleading or inaccurate". Payslips, appraisals, a contract and dated emails are what settle a factual dispute.
- Ask for a copy, in writing. You can ask either the person who gave it or the one who received it. Acas warns that the reference may have been given on the understanding it stayed confidential, which can limit your access under UK GDPR.
- Complain formally if both refuse to show it to you and an offer was withdrawn without a legitimate reason.
- Legal action, if it comes to that. Acas splits this in two: an employment tribunal claim where the problem is discrimination, subject to the usual three-month limit, or a county or sheriff court claim where a misleading or inaccurate reference caused you financial loss. GOV.UK describes the same route, adding that you would need to show the reference was "misleading or inaccurate" and that you "suffered a loss", such as a withdrawn job offer.
A separate point on evidence: GOV.UK notes that an employer defending what they wrote is expected to substantiate it — for example with warning letters. An assertion with nothing behind it is exactly what "fair and accurate" excludes.
How to See What Your Reference Said
The rule most people get wrong: GOV.UK states that "once you start with a new employer, you can ask to see a copy of a reference", and that "you have no right to ask your previous employer". The new employer is the door, not the old one.
The mechanism is a subject access request. The ICO's public guidance on getting copies of your information says a request can be made online, by email, by post, over the phone or face to face, that "organisations usually have one month to respond to a SAR", and that you can complain to the ICO if an organisation does not respond or refuses. Put it in writing anyway, so the date is not in dispute.
Expect a refusal to be possible. The ICO's guidance on exemptions relevant to subject access requests says "the personal information included in a confidential reference is exempt from the right of access" where it relates to prospective or actual education, training or employment, and that "the exemption applies regardless of whether you give or receive the reference". The limit on it is equally clear: "this exemption only applies to references given in confidence."
So the practical answer is: ask the new employer, in writing, after you start; expect one month; and understand that a reference marked confidential may lawfully stay that way. If it does, step one of the Acas list — asking the new employer what their concern actually is — is usually more productive than pursuing the document.
Afterwards
Tell your referees the outcome, whichever way it went. Two minutes, and it is the reason they say yes the next time.
Subject: I got it — thank you
Hi Tom,
Kettering made the offer formal this morning and I start on 3 November. Thank you for the reference — they mentioned it, and it clearly helped.
I owe you a coffee next time you are in Leeds.
Best,
Nadia
If the offer itself still needs answering, responding to a job offer email covers what to confirm in writing before you resign anything.
Checklist
- ✓Asked at the start of the search, not at the conditional offer
- ✓Checked whether the old employer's policy allows anything beyond dates and job title
- ✓Four people have said yes, not two
- ✓For a manager who has left, separated their personal reference from the company's factual one
- ✓Re-established contact first where it had been more than a year
- ✓Sent the job description, the CV and two or three things to highlight once the offer arrived
- ✓Warned them about the format, the timing and the strengths-and-weaknesses prompt
- ✓Told them the outcome
Sources
- GOV.UK: Work references
- Acas: When an employer must give a reference
- Acas: What employers can say in a reference
- Acas: If you cannot get a reference
- Acas: If you get a bad reference
- Acas: Reference request letter template
- ICO: Getting copies of your information (subject access request)
- ICO: What exemptions are relevant for SARs? (confidential references)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a UK employer have to give a reference?
Usually not. Acas states that an employer does not have to give a reference by law, with three exceptions: where it was agreed in writing, for example in an employment contract; for certain financial services jobs regulated by the FCA or PRA; or where it was agreed in some other way, such as in a settlement agreement. GOV.UK gives the same position.
What is a basic reference?
Acas defines it as a short summary of employment — for example the employee's job title and the dates they worked there. GOV.UK adds salary to the list of things a brief reference may cover. Many employers have a policy of giving nothing more, so a bare reference is not a signal that something is wrong.
Can a former employer give me a bad reference?
They can say things you would rather they did not, but not anything they like. GOV.UK says a reference must be fair and accurate, and can include details about your performance and if you were sacked. Acas adds that where opinions are given there should be evidence to support them, and that references must not be misleading or contain irrelevant personal information.
Can I see what my reference says about me?
Sometimes. GOV.UK says that once you start with a new employer you can ask to see a copy of a reference, but you have no right to ask your previous employer. A subject access request may be refused where the reference was given in confidence: the ICO's confidential reference exemption applies whether the organisation gave or received it.
What can I do if a reference was inaccurate and cost me the job?
Acas sets out the order: talk to the new employer and offer evidence, ask both employers in writing for a copy, complain formally if they refuse without good reason, and then consider legal action — an employment tribunal where discrimination is involved, within three months, or a county or sheriff court claim where a misleading or inaccurate reference caused financial loss.
Who should I ask if my old manager has left the company?
Ask them anyway, and separately ask the company for a factual reference. A manager who has moved on gives a personal professional reference in their own name rather than on their former employer's behalf, which is worth saying explicitly in your request so nobody is surprised later.
What if I cannot get a reference at all?
Acas suggests asking the new employer whether they will accept a reference from someone else you worked with, a reference from a different employer, or a personal or character reference from someone who knows you well but has not worked with you. A probationary period or trial is another route employers sometimes offer.
How many referees should I line up?
Employers typically ask for two. I would have four people who have said yes, because the failure mode is not refusal — it is an unanswered email during the two weeks your offer is conditional.
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