Self-help templates
Employment Reference Letter
A reference letter from an employer for a former or current employee: role, dates, duties and a fair assessment.
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Licence: this document is for your personal use only. You may not resell, share, copy or republish it, or use its content, without the written permission of TheLawToKnow.
How to use it
- When: you are an employer or manager and you are asked to give a reference for a current or former employee, for a new job, a course, a visa, a tenancy or a similar purpose.
- Before you write: get the employee's written permission to give the reference and to share the personal data in it, and find out who the reader is and what the reference is for.
- Fill in everything in [square brackets] and delete the options you do not use. Keep to facts you know and can support: role, dates, duties, results and conduct.
- Be honest and fair. Do not exaggerate, and do not include opinions you cannot support. If you cannot give a positive reference, you may give a short factual one (position and dates only) or decline politely.
- Not for: a personal or character reference from a friend or a teacher (use a simpler letter), or a letter of recommendation for an academic programme (the facts apply but the form differs).
What is inside
- Art. 1. Writer
- Art. 2. Addressed to
- Art. 3. About the employee
- Art. 4. Relationship and period
- Art. 5. Duties
- Art. 6. Performance and skills
- Art. 7. Conduct and attendance
- Art. 8. Reason for leaving
- Art. 9. Overall assessment
- Art. 10. Limits
- Notes on the clauses and a checklist of what to check under your country's law
What these templates are not
- They are self-help templates, not legal advice, and they do not replace a lawyer.
- Laws differ from country to country, and some rules cannot be changed by contract. Each template ends with a checklist of what to check where you live.
- For a high-value or unusual situation, ask a local lawyer or notary to look at the final text.
TheLawToKnow Tools. Self-help template. Not legal advice. Check the law currently in force. Written with the help of AI tools and reviewed by a lawyer-author.