Important: This Isn’t the Reference Form Itself

Regulatory references must be given using the template prescribed in the FCA’s rules on regulatory references, SYSC 22. This checklist doesn’t replace that template, and you shouldn’t use an unofficial version of it. What it does is help you manage the process around it: who to ask, when to chase, what to check and what to record.

What Regulatory References Are

Under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, firms appointing Senior Managers, certified staff and certain non-executive directors must obtain regulatory references from the individual’s employers over the previous six years. Those employers must provide references in the prescribed form, disclosing specified information such as relevant disciplinary action, Conduct Rules breaches and fitness and propriety findings. Our guide to regulatory references and the six-year rule explains the requirements in detail.

What’s in the Checklist

Requesting References: Getting the Timing Right

The single most useful thing a hiring firm can do is request references early. A Senior Manager can’t perform their function until approved, and the approval application needs the references. Waiting until after the candidate has resigned, or worse, after they’ve joined, regularly adds weeks to the timetable.

Our pre-offer checks checklist covers references alongside the other checks we run before introducing any candidate.

Reviewing What Comes Back

When a reference discloses something, such as a Conduct Rules breach or disciplinary action, it doesn’t automatically rule the candidate out. Consider how serious and relevant it was, how long ago it happened, what the individual has done since, and whether they told you about it themselves. Record your reasoning using Part E of the checklist. Candidates who disclose matters openly at the start are usually in a far stronger position than those whose history appears unexpectedly in a reference.

Giving References: What Firms Must Do

• Use the prescribed template.
• Include the required information, including relevant disciplinary action, Conduct Rules breaches and fitness and propriety findings within the period covered.
• Disclose serious misconduct where the rules require it, regardless of when it occurred.
• Be accurate and fair, and base the reference on records.
• Respond promptly. The regulator expects references to be provided as soon as reasonably practicable.
• Don’t sign agreements that conflict with your obligations. Settlement agreements can’t prevent a firm from disclosing what the rules require.
• Keep records so you can give accurate references for at least six years.
• Update references you’ve given if you later become aware of information that would have changed them, within the period the rules require.

A Practical Example

A firm offers a compliance officer role to a candidate who has worked at three regulated firms in the past six years, including a short interim assignment and a non-executive role at a small credit union. The firm’s first draft of the reference list misses both the interim assignment and the non-executive role, because neither appears prominently on the CV. Working through Part A of the checklist with the candidate catches them. All four requests go out the day the conditional offer is accepted, and the tracker shows one employer hasn’t responded after two weeks. A chase brings it in a week later, and the approval application goes in complete, a month earlier than it would have if the firm had waited for the candidate to join.

References for Certified Staff

References aren’t only for Senior Managers. Firms must also obtain them for certified staff before certifying them, which means advisers, material risk takers and managers of certified staff. Because certified staff are recruited more often than Senior Managers, firms with high adviser turnover can be handling references every week. A single tracker, used consistently across the firm, makes it far easier to see what’s outstanding and to show the regulator that the process works.

Common Problems

• Late requests that delay approval.
• Missing employers, particularly short roles, non-executive positions or overseas employers.
• Slow responses with nobody tracking or chasing them.
• Disclosures discovered after resignation, when the candidate and firm have both committed.
• Incomplete references given, because records weren’t kept.
• Settlement agreements drafted in a way that seems to restrict disclosure.

Overseas and Non-Regulated Employers

Where a candidate’s previous employer is overseas or wasn’t regulated, it won’t be bound by the UK rules. Firms should still take reasonable steps to obtain appropriate references and record what they did. These gaps are worth identifying early, because they can take longer to resolve.

References and Recruitment

We ask every Senior Manager candidate before introduction whether they expect anything to appear in a reference, and we encourage clients to request references as soon as the candidate is comfortable. It’s one of the simplest ways to shorten an SMF appointment. Our SMF appointment timeline shows how references fit with the rest of the process.

Who Should Own the Process

References usually sit with HR, but compliance should be involved wherever a disclosure needs assessing or a reference the firm gives includes a regulatory finding. Agree who sends requests, who chases them, who reviews what comes back and who signs off references the firm gives. Using one tracker for the whole firm, rather than spreadsheets held by individual managers, makes it much easier to show the regulator that the process is consistent and complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back must references go?

Six years, covering employers where the individual held relevant roles.

Can we appoint someone before references arrive?

A Senior Manager can’t perform the function until approved, and the firm should have the references before it certifies certified staff. Request them early to avoid delay.

What if a previous employer won’t respond?

Chase, record your attempts, and consider other evidence. Regulated firms are obliged to provide references, so persistent failure is unusual.

Is this the FCA’s reference template?

No. Use the prescribed template in the FCA’s rules. This is a checklist and tracker to manage the process around it.

Is the checklist free?

Yes. Download it and adapt it for use within your firm. It’s general guidance, not legal or regulatory advice.