A UK charity maintaining an open standard for verifiable employment references
The Work References Foundation exists to make employment reference verification trustworthy, accessible, and free for everyone. We develop and maintain an open standard for cryptographically signed, DNS-anchored employment references — and we provide free tools to verify them.
The hiring process is one of the most consequential interactions in a person’s economic life, and the integrity of references is central to that process. Today, reference verification is fragmented, unreliable, and often costly — creating barriers for job-seekers and risks for employers.
We believe the infrastructure for trustworthy references should be a public good, not a commercial product. The standard is free to read, free to implement, and free to use. Forever.
The objects of the CIO are, for the public benefit:
To advance public trust, transparency, and fairness in employment and hiring by developing, maintaining, and freely providing open tools and technologies for the verification of employment references and professional credentials.
To promote the effective use of digital technology for the public benefit, in particular through the provision of free, open-source software and cryptographic verification systems that enable individuals and organisations to give and receive trustworthy employment references.
To advance education and awareness regarding best practices in reference verification, data integrity, and privacy-preserving technology in the context of employment.
To publish, maintain, and promote open standards and specifications for the verification of employment references, ensuring that such standards are freely available for adoption by any person or organisation without charge or restriction.
To relieve unemployment and assist individuals in securing employment by removing barriers caused by unreliable, inaccessible, or fraudulent reference practices.
Founding Trustee
John founded the Work References project and established the Foundation to ensure the standard remains free and open. He oversees the technical direction and governance of the standard.
The Foundation requires a minimum of three trustees. Additional trustees will be appointed before registration.
The Foundation requires a minimum of three trustees. Additional trustees will be appointed before registration.
The Work References Standard is governed through a transparent public process. Changes to the standard go through public proposals, comment periods, and trustee approval. The standard is freely available for anyone to implement without charge or restriction.
The Foundation is funded by its founding trustee and, in future, by donations and grants. A separate commercial entity may be established to offer paid services built on top of the standard, with profits donated to the charity. The standard and free tools always remain with the Foundation.
The Work References Foundation is structured as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) — a foundation model with a single tier of trustees and no membership. This is the simplest and most appropriate structure for a charity that maintains a technical standard.
The Work References Foundation is preparing to register with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. This page will be updated with the registered charity number once registration is complete.
Read the standard, implement it in your systems, or get in touch to learn more.