HR glossary · Hiring and contracts

Reference check

A reference check is when you contact people who have worked with a candidate, with the candidate's consent, to confirm what you learned in hiring.

Also called: employment reference, reference call, referee check

What reference check means

A reference check is the step where you contact people who know a candidate's work, usually former managers, to confirm facts and hear how the person did in a similar job. It usually happens near the end of hiring, once you have one or two finalists.

References are most useful for checking specific things: the dates and role the person held, whether they did the tasks they described in the interview, and how they handled the parts of the job you care most about. They are least useful when you ask vague questions like "Was she good?"

Get the candidate's permission before you contact anyone, and only contact the people they agree to. Privacy law limits how you collect and keep personal information about candidates, so treat what referees tell you as confidential hiring information.

How it works

Ask the candidate for 2 or 3 references who supervised their work, and get their written consent to contact them. If they ask you not to call their current employer, respect that. You can ask instead for a past manager, or make the offer conditional on a reference from the current job later.

Use the same questions for every referee for the same job. Base them on the job description and on what came up in the interview: "She told us she trained new cashiers. Can you tell me about that?" Ask about the work, such as reliability, quality, teamwork and safety. Do not ask referees about things you could not ask the candidate, such as health, family plans, age or religion. Human rights law applies to the whole hiring process, not just the interview.

Write down what each referee says, then compare with your interview notes. One lukewarm comment is not a reason to drop a strong candidate, but a pattern of concerns about a key duty is worth a follow-up question to the candidate.

Keep reference notes with the hiring file and decide how long you will keep them. Set a retention period for information about unsuccessful candidates and tell them what it is.

Is it the same in every province?

No province requires reference checks, and the approach is the same across Canada. Human rights rules on what you may ask apply everywhere, and privacy laws govern how candidate information is collected and kept; the privacy law that applies depends on your province and industry.

Example: A plumbing company checks two references

Rashid runs a 7-person plumbing company in Kelowna, British Columbia. His top candidate for an apprentice role gives two references: a former site supervisor and a shop teacher.

Rashid sends both the same short form: dates of work or study, the tasks the candidate did, how they handled safety rules, and whether the referee would work with them again. The supervisor confirms the dates and praises the candidate's care with tools; the teacher confirms the candidate finished a pipefitting course. Rashid saves both answers with his interview notes before making the offer.

Reference checks in Staffkin

Staffkin reference checks let the candidate give consent online. Referees answer a standard form and you get a PDF report, at $9 each or included in plans.

Run a reference check

Free tools and guides for this

Questions about reference check

Do I need permission to call a candidate's references?

Yes, get the candidate's consent, preferably in writing, and contact only the people they agree to. Privacy law limits how you collect personal information about candidates.

What questions can I ask a reference in Canada?

Ask about the job: dates, duties, reliability, quality of work, teamwork and safety. Do not ask about anything you could not ask the candidate, such as health, family status or age.

What if a reference only confirms dates and job title?

Some employers have a policy of confirming only dates and job title, so a short reference is not a warning sign by itself. Ask the candidate for another referee who supervised their work.

How many references should I check?

Two or three people who supervised the candidate's work is usually enough for a small business, as long as you ask each one the same questions.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.