How do you check a candidate's references, and what are you allowed to ask?

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) treats calling the referees a candidate has named as a form of screening, and screening comes with conditions. Four steps keep you within the regulator's line and keep the candidate on board.

Step 1: say in advance what you are going to do. According to the authority, you may not screen an applicant without telling them. Before you start, you say that a reference check will take place, why it is needed, which information you will verify and why that information matters for this role.

Step 2: let the candidate choose the referees. Ask for two people who saw the work up close, for example a manager and a colleague from the previous job. Do not call the current employer on your own initiative if the candidate still works there and does not want you to; that is exactly the kind of information gathering for which the authority demands a very good reason.

Step 3: ask only about the work. What did the person do, for how long, in which team, and how did the collaboration go? Those questions relate to the job. Questions about health, sick leave, family situation or religion do not; the authority counts those among the data you may not process during a job application.

Step 4: tell the candidate what you heard. After the screening you must inform the applicant of the outcome, the authority says. That feels awkward when a reference was disappointing, but it is also the moment a candidate can explain what happened. In our experience a poor reference more often points to a mismatch than to the person; see also wrong applicants.

One point that often goes wrong: consent. The Dutch Data Protection Authority states that an applicant's consent is not legally valid, because someone who wants the job has no free choice. What counts is whether the check is necessary for the role and whether you announced it, not whether a box was ticked.

The authority's list is short. During a job application you normally do not process special categories of personal data (health, ethnic origin, religion), criminal records, the citizen service number (BSN) or a copy of the identity document. You may look at the original ID; you keep a copy only once someone is employed.

You may not ask about a criminal past, the authority writes, unless it concerns a role in which you need to know. And even then, it usually suffices that the applicant can produce a VOG. The certificate is the clean route: you do not need to know what happened, only that it raises no objection for this particular role.

Finally, do not keep the data too long. The authority calls four weeks after the end of the procedure customary for rejected candidates, and at most one year if the candidate agrees to stay on file.

A certificate of conduct, in Dutch Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag or VOG, is under article 28 of the Wet justitiële en strafvorderlijke gegevens a statement by the minister that an inquiry into the applicant's past, weighed against the risk to society for the purpose stated, has revealed no objections. Justis refuses the certificate under article 35 when a registered offence, if repeated, would stand in the way of the purpose for which it is requested.

The employer always takes the first step, Justis writes: an applicant can only request a VOG once an employer or organisation has asked for it. You prepare the application online through MijnJustis with eHerkenning, the Dutch business login, and choose a screening profile; the candidate completes the request and pays 33.85 euros, or 41.35 euros on paper through the municipality. Justis says the assessment usually takes one to four weeks and sometimes up to eight. Build that into your planning, otherwise the candidate sits for weeks between offer and first day, which is a classic moment for candidates to drop out.

For some professions a VOG is required by law, childcare for example, Justis writes. As examples of roles to screen for reliability, Justis names work with vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and the sick, and roles involving money, sensitive information or vital infrastructure. For other roles you can ask for one if you can explain why it fits the work. Check an incoming certificate for accuracy and authenticity; Justis explicitly asks employers to do so. Whether you may keep a copy on file, you check in the law that prescribes the VOG for your sector.

Can I contact references without the candidate's consent?

Consent is not the test, information is. The Dutch Data Protection Authority says an applicant cannot give valid consent because they depend on you. What you must do is tell them beforehand that you will call references, why, and what you will ask. Call only the people the candidate named, and stick to the work.

Can a former employer give a negative reference in the Netherlands?

Best practice is to stick to facts you can substantiate: role, period, duties, and how the collaboration went. Opinions about character or health do not belong in it. Whoever is called may also decline and simply confirm that the person worked there. If in doubt, ask an employment lawyer; this article explains what is customary, it is not legal advice.

What is pre-employment screening, and do I need it?

Pre-employment screening is the umbrella term for everything you verify just before hiring: CV, diplomas, references and, where needed, a VOG. For most roles the reference check in this article is enough. A wider investigation is only justified when the role demands it, and the same rules apply: announce it, limit it to what is relevant, share the outcome afterwards.

Who pays for the VOG?

The candidate pays when applying, 33.85 euros online or 41.35 euros through the municipality according to Justis. Many employers reimburse that amount on the first day, and you can simply say so in the offer. It is not compulsory; it is a small gesture at a moment when the candidate may still be wavering.

At SocialFind we do the pre-selection and the first conversations within a campaign, and what comes after, references and a VOG just before the offer, stays with you as the employer; how we handle that first part is described under screening and candidate follow-up and in the way we build an application funnel. If you would like articles like this in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.