PASS-approved referees
Referees must work in a recognised profession or be “a person of good standing in their community”:
- Accountant
- Airline Pilot
- Articled Clerk of a limited company
- Assurance agent of recognised company
- Bank/building society official
- Barrister
- Chairman/director of limited company
- Chiropodist
- Local Councillor
- Civil servant (permanent)
- Dentist
- Director/Manager/Personnel Officer of a VAT registered Company
- Engineer (with professional qualifications)
- Financial services intermediary (e.g. stockbroker or insurance broker)
- Fire service official
- Funeral director
- Insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company.
- Journalist
- Justice of the Peace
- Legal secretary (associate member or fellow of the Institute of legal secretaries and PAs)
- Licensee of public house
- Local government officer
- Manager/Personnel officer (of limited company)
- Member, associate or fellow of a professional body
- Member of Parliament / Member of Scottish Parliament
- Merchant Navy officer
- Minister of a recognised religion
- Nurse (RGN and RMN)
- Officer of the armed services
- Optician
- Paralegal – certified paralegal, qualified paralegal or associate member of the institute of Paralegals
- Person with honours (e.g. OBE MBE etc.)
- Pharmacist
- Police officer
- Post Office official
- President / Secretary of a recognized organisation
- Salvation Army officer
- Social worker
- Solicitor
- Surveyor
- Teacher, lecturer
- Trade union officer
- Travel agent (qualified)
- Warrant officers and Chief Petty Officers
Clarification notes
- Referees must be in current employment; retirees cannot act as a referee.
- Referees must have no family or personal relationship with, or live with, the applicant (including that of guardian or foster carer).
- Referees must agree to be contacted at their place of work.
- For many young people, a youth worker is the only available referee; however, youth workers may not fit into the above categories. Fortunately, in most cases, their manager would match one of the above (e.g. as a manager of a charity). In such cases, follow through the checklist, and then ask to speak to their manager; verify with the manager that the youth worker can be trusted, and note the manager’s name and job title on the checklist.