Anyone in HR or Personnel can you help r/e reference.

[Lilyloo]

Do employers have a legal obligation to provide a reference or at least confirm dates you worked at company.
Thanks

Not technically, no.

However they may be putting themselves at risk of a discrimination, breach of contract or negligence claim if they don't.

I've pasted below some useful information for HR professionals which helps explain.

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'An employer can refuse to provide a reference as there is no statutory duty to provide an existing or ex-employee with a reference.
However refusing to supply a reference altogether is not without risk. Employers usually do provide references for some or all of the following reasons:

It is established practice to do so.
It may be discriminatory to refuse to give a reference - see the question below on discrimination claims which can arise if an employer refuses to give a reference.
There may be an express or implied contractual term that the employer will provide a reference. An implied contractual term will arise if it is normal practice in the type of work covered by the employee's contract for a reference to be given, and it would be unreasonable to expect a new employer to take on the employee without a reference.
A refusal would have adverse consequences on the employee concerned. As was stated in Spring v Guardian Assurance plc [1994] IRLR 460, HL employers have 'at least a moral obligation' to provide references.
A negligence claim could be made by a new employer if the previous employer failed to reveal something which ultimately causes the new employer loss.'

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HTH. Is your employer refusing to provide a reference for you?

It's dp basically he worked for a company for couple of weeks.
He has had reference of them before for two other jobs but for some reason they not giving it now and won't speak to him when he contacts them.
He has got his job subject to references but it in finacial service so needs all references from jobs. Do they have to acknowledge the dates he worked for them?

Not specifically, no.

Have the new employer tried to contact them asking for confirmation?

yes they have tried and referred it back to him now.
They are regulated by the financial services authority as are his new company and the previous two he who got references from them would this help ?
If they already gave references previously does that make any difference ?

Yes. He should write to them formally stating that if they continue to refuse to provide a reference for him he will be making a complaint to the FSA in the first instance on the basis that it is custom and practice for them to provide references and without doing so they are preventing him from taking up employment elsewhere as it is unreasonable of him to expect the new employer to take him on without those references.

Thanks for your help flowery he has just done that and is ringing the FSA too!