References and Employment Verification Process

Providing References for Employee or Volunteers

Under the General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act, we are required to ensure that we have a legal basis upon to process, handle or distribute data. This applies in the case of providing references, as this involves the Students' Union providing personal information we hold legitimate as an employer/volunteering organisation to a third party. 

But, what does this mean for me?

Very simply, it means that we need to be assured of consent before providing any personal information to a third party. This is most often done for us. Here is the process: 

1. Reference request is recieved by email or in the post to a manager or HR
2. Recipient checks the request to identify whether proof of consent has been provided. Normally this is a signed document provided as part of an application process
3. If no consent has been provided, we have two options: 
   1. If we have reliable contact details for the individual, the manager can contact the individual to request written consent to provide the request reference information. This consent should detail to which company the individual is giving consent for their data to be shared. 
   2. Or, consent can be requested directly from the company requesting the reference. 
4. Once consent is recieved, HR will release employment dates and attendance statistics for the purpose of fulfilling the reference. 
5. Manager submits or emails the completed reference and the consent to the company, providing a copy to unionhr@staffs.ac.uk for archiving.

Example Email

Should you receive a reference request, you can use the below template text to request consent from a referencing company.

In line with data protection regulations, please could you provide a copy of the permission that this individual has provided for you to request this information. Upon receipt we will happily fulfil any relevant reference information.