How to check an employment reference is genuine

Why a returned form does not prove who wrote it

A reference form comes back with a name, a signature and some answers, and it is easy to file it as done. But nothing about a filled-in form actually confirms who filled it in. Anyone with the candidate's phone number could put a friend's name on it, and a candidate under pressure to move jobs has more reason than most people to want a good one.

This isn't about assuming the worst. It's about the fact that a form on its own is only half the evidence — the other half is confirming it came from where it says it came from. The email and employer checks take about ten minutes; all six take twenty to thirty, and it's the part most small employers skip.

Check the email address against the employer

Look at the domain the reference came from. If the referee says they're the finance director at Acme Ltd and the email is j.smith@acmeltd.co.uk, that's consistent. If it's a Gmail, Hotmail or other free webmail address, that's not automatically wrong — a lot of legitimate small businesses run on personal email — but it's a weaker signal, and it's worth asking for a company address or a direct phone number as a second point of contact.

A quick way to raise your confidence: look up the employer's actual domain (their website's address) and check it matches. A reference from @acme-recruitment.net when the company's real site is acme.co.uk is worth a second look.

Look the employer up at Companies House

If the employer is a UK limited company, Companies House is free and takes thirty seconds. Search the company name and check three things: it exists, it's listed as active (not dissolved), and the address roughly matches what the candidate told you.

If the company doesn't exist under that name, or comes up dissolved years before the dates the candidate gave you, that's a real discrepancy worth asking about — not something to quietly file away.

Call the switchboard, not the number you were given

It's the one check worth doing yourself, even when the rest is done for you. If a referee gave you a direct mobile number, don't only call that number — look up the company's own published switchboard number (from their website or Companies House) and ask to be put through to that department.

The point isn't to catch anyone out. It's that a direct number you were handed by the candidate proves nothing about who answers it, while a number you found yourself and a switchboard operator who transfers you to the right department is two independent confirmations in one call.

Compare the dates with the CV

Put the reference's stated start and end dates next to the candidate's CV. A gap of a month either way is usually nothing — memories of exact dates are unreliable. A gap of six months or more, or dates that don't overlap with what the CV claims at all, is worth asking about directly.

Check the referee held the role they describe

Ask what the referee's own job title was, and whether it's plausible that someone in that role would have managed or worked closely with the candidate. A referee who claims to be "HR Director" but can't describe the department the candidate worked in, or gives vague answers about day-to-day work, is a softer signal than a wrong date — but it's still a signal.

Write down what you checked, and what came back

For every reference, keep a short record: what you checked, when, and what you found. It doesn't need to be formal — a line in a spreadsheet is enough. The value isn't in the paperwork for its own sake; it's that six months later, when you can't remember whether you actually called anyone, the record tells you.

When something doesn't match: record it, ask, decide

If a check comes back with a mismatch — a date that's off, a company that doesn't exist, an address that doesn't add up — the process is the same every time: record exactly what didn't match, ask the candidate about it directly, and then decide. Most mismatches turn out to have an ordinary explanation. A few don't. Either way, the record of what you found and what the candidate said about it is what protects you later, not a hunch about the person.

Keep the language neutral while you do this. "The dates you gave don't match what your referee told us — can you help us understand the difference?" gets you an answer. Leading with an accusation gets you a defensive one.

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Doing all six checks by hand takes most people twenty to thirty minutes per reference, which adds up fast if you're hiring more than one or two people a month. PreHire checks the referee's email and the employer record as soon as a referee is nominated, then whether the reply really came from that address and how the dates they give sit against the candidate's. £9 a check, with the evidence behind every result. The only thing left is the switchboard call, if the role warrants it. The report is ready minutes after the references you asked for are in, or the closing date has passed.