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Ireland: why confirm a former employee's job?

Every Irish employer already gives each employee, within five days of starting, a written statement with the job title and the start date (Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, s. 3(1A)). Confirming the same facts takes a minute and helps the person into their next job. certo asks on their behalf, with their explicit consent.

Law as of 26 October 2026 · Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, s. 3(1A), Law Reform Commission revised text updated to 16 December 2022; Data Protection Act 2018

In short

  • The facts are already in writing. Every employer must give each employee, within five days of starting, a written statement with the job title and the start date (s. 3(1A) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994). Those are the facts we ask about, with the end date from your payroll records.
  • It helps the person who worked for you. Ireland has no statutory certificate of employment, so a record confirmed by a former employer is what the next employer trusts. Answering takes about a minute and needs no account.
  • certo asks on their behalf, with their explicit consent. The person's consent is a legal basis under the GDPR (Art. 6(1)(a)). They started this check themselves, from their own account, for these facts and no others.
  • You do not have to answer. No Irish law obliges an employer to answer certo. Declining is fine.

Employment law

Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, s. 3(1A): what you already hold

Quoted from the revised text of the Act prepared by the Law Reform Commission, linked from the Irish Statute Book.

(1A) Without prejudice to subsection (1), an employer shall, not later than 5 days after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say: … (i) the title, grade, nature or category of work for which the employee is employed, or (ii) a brief specification or description of the work; (i) the date of commencement of the employee’s contract of employment; …

Every employer must give each employee, within five days of starting, a written statement that names the job (its title, grade, nature or category, or a brief description of the work) and the start date. These are the facts we ask about, with the end date from your payroll records, so your records already hold them.

No duty to give a reference

We found no provision of Irish employment legislation that obliges an employer to give a former employee a reference or to confirm their employment to anyone, and none that sets out what such a confirmation may say. Ireland has no statutory certificate of employment of the kind many European countries have. Answering certo is a choice your organisation makes, at the person's request.

What is never asked

We found no provision of Irish statute that lists the questions an employer may not put to a job applicant. The Employment Equality Acts forbid discrimination in employment, including access to it, on nine grounds (s. 6 of the 1998 Act): gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community. certo never asks you about any of these, nor about health, pay, performance, the reason for leaving or a criminal record.

Personal data

The GDPR applies directly in Ireland; the Data Protection Act 2018 gives further effect to it.

  • Art. 6(1)(a), consent. The legal basis for your answer. The person chose your organisation and each fact, so the consent is specific to this request.
  • Art. 7(1), proof of consent. certo records which account asked, when, and for which facts. Write to support@certo.bio and we send you the record for your request.
  • Art. 5(1)(c), data minimisation. You confirm or leave unticked only the facts listed. Add nothing else: anything beyond them is not covered by the person's consent.

What this means for your answer

  • Tick only what your HR, payroll or personnel records show.
  • Not sure it is the same person? Press "We can't find a matching record". Never confirm a record you are not sure is theirs.
  • Your policy is not to answer? Press "We do not answer these requests". The record shows your organisation declined, and nobody else there is asked.

Sources

This page is not legal advice. It reflects the law as it stood on 26 October 2026.