What is a character reference?
A character reference is a reference about an individual's conduct and reliability, obtained and verified as part of screening. The standard sets who may give one and how it must be confirmed.
Use this diagram
Free to use on your own site, in training material or in a handout, as long as the credit link stays on it. Paste this where you want the diagram to appear.
<figure>
<img src="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/character-reference/diagram.svg" alt="character reference — diagram from SecureOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk/glossary/character-reference">What is a character reference?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://secureoptix.co.uk">SecureOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Who gives it is prescribed for a reason: a reference from a friend or relative tells an employer very little and is straightforward to arrange, which is why the standard excludes it.
Verification means confirming the referee is who they claim to be and that they actually provided the reference. Referees invented by applicants are a known and recurring problem.
References that only confirm dates are still valuable, because dates are what close gaps in employment history even when the referee will not comment further.
In practice
Two references on a file, both positive, one real.
The first came back on company headed paper from a general enquiries address. The second was given over the phone, to a number the applicant supplied, by somebody who described themselves as the former manager.
Neither was verified. Finding the organisation's number independently and establishing that the referee holds the position they claim takes a few minutes, and it is the entire value of a reference.
A reference nobody verified is a document, and the only thing it evidences is that the applicant could produce one.
What goes wrong in practice
- References from personal contacts accepted where the standard requires otherwise.
- Referee identity never confirmed, so the reference proves nothing.
- Reference chased after deployment rather than before it.