All your questions of why we need reference from you as a tutor

To comply with Employment Agencies regulations, we ask you to supply references. As soon as you have given us your referees’ details, you can accept your tuition request and we will do the rest. We need a minimum of two references to comply. Please choose referees who are able to respond swiftly for us to proceed as normal without hindering your client.

Why do we need your references?

When placing tutors in contact with potentially vulnerable people the law states that we must take all reasonable measures to collect references from two NON RELATIVES for each of our tutors. Please also ensure that your referees are Individuals (not companies / universities) and are based in this country as a local address / postcode will be required from them.

So, here the questions come to why we often ask references every tutor we have during the selection process. First of all, please note that these referees must be individuals and not relatives, companies or universities. And they must have UK addresses

Our advice from the Employment Agencies Standards directorate at BIS was that it is a legal requirement which necessitates for us to comply. Therefore, We ask you to kindly consider that our service to you is free of charge and all we ask for is your cooperation. The Department for Business has usefully provided a helpline number for any enquiries you have regarding the legislation and how it applies to tuition agencies and here is their number 0800 917 2368.

Here are the common questions we are asked by our tutors

1) Do I have to do this every time I receive a new enquiry?
No, just once.

2) Do clients know you are doing this?
Yes, we will tell the clients whether you have been reference verified or not. And we are working on new features on our website to show whether a tutor has reference verified or not. We will keep the client, and you, up to date as the references arrive.

3) Who should I choose as a reference?
Ideally, people who know you well and can vouch for you as likely to be a good tutor, these can be character or professional references. We cannot accept references from relatives. We do make spot checks to validate references.

Who will see these references?
We will see them and assuming they are positive, we will make them available to any confirmed clients. Clients will not see the contact details or full names of your referees to protect their privacy.

My referee doesn’t have an e-mail address / phone number for this country
These are requirements of our system. If a referee doesn’t have both of these pieces of information then you must choose another person.

How do you contact my referees?
All referees are sent an e-mail with reference request form. We do not contact referees by phone or fill out the form for them. It is very short few minutes form.

How do I know when references are complete? Y
You can ask us via email and we will get back to you as soon as we are able to. In the near future you might also be able to see on our website in your account.

What if my referee doesn’t come back?
If your referees don’t come back. You will need to identify further referees – this is why we strongly recommend contacting four referees so it is all done in one go.

Alternatively, you can contact us and ask us to resend the form to referees who have not replied within a week.

We must secure two references as minimum. Please work with us to make sure this happens. We don’t want to have to call your new client after a week or two of tutoring saying this isn’t complete.

What if the reference is negative?
Obviously, if you receive a bad reference we may not be able to use your services. The reference will remain confidential.

What happens if I refuse to provide references?
Unfortunately it is a legal requirement for us to process references, so we would not be able to continue helping you to find clients. If you are unwilling to do this please switch off your profile so others might benefit from the work.

Does this process have any value?
Parents are saying how much happier they feel being able to see a tutor’s references and many tutors have said they feel it is an excellent way to reassure families as well as ensuring only serious tutors work with us.