Employee Reference Letter

Many people will ask when is it appropriate to provide an employee reference letter to a previous employee.

Another question asked is what kinds of information can I put on the letter?

Some companies will take the position to not provide any reference letters including only name rank and serial number when a telephone reference is requested from a potential employer.

They are so gun shy of being sued that they do nothing!

I guess I have always felt comfortable providing a reference letter when asked.

Information on an Employee Farewell Letter

The rule of thumb I use is that I would only make true statements. I would not add to, or take away from that.

Generally an employee, whether current or previous, is not going to ask you for a reference letter if they are a questionable employee.

But, nevertheless, if you put something that is negative make sure it is true and can be proved if challenged.

I use the same rule of thumb when providing a telephone reference. I will only give out negative information if I am able to prove the information.

Now I want to clarify both of the two previous statements by saying that I will avoid providing negative information as much as possible. I too am not looking for trouble.

As an example if you are asked about their attendance record and their record is poor. You may state that employment records are confidential and that information is not available to give out. They can read whatever they want into that response.

There are a number of good sources for writing employee reference letters but one of my favorites is WriteExpress. They not only have great reference letters but all kinds of letters you can use at a very affordable price. I recommend them.

Thank You!

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