Right to a reference or work certificate, by country
Every statute here gives a departing employee a written document from the employer, but the content differs a lot. Austria, Norway and the French rule stop at the facts of the job (duration and kind of work, or a certificate whose content a regulation fixes), while Germany adds an assessment of performance and conduct if the employee asks, and the Netherlands lets the employee ask for how duties were met and why employment ended. Japan lets the worker pick which items go in the certificate and bars any entry the worker did not request; Austria bars remarks that make a new job harder to get.
| Country | Basic content | Assessment of performance or conduct | Reason the job ended | Limits on what is written |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Duration and kind of work, on request | No entries that make a new job harder to get | ||
| Germany | The employment relationship and its duration, on request | Performance and conduct, if the employee asks | ||
| France | A certificate; its content is set by regulation | |||
| Japan | Period of employment, type of work, position and wages, as the worker requests | Reason for leaving, including the reason if dismissed, if requested | Nothing the worker did not request; no secret marks | |
| Netherlands | Kind of work, hours per day or week, start and end dates | How the employee met their obligations, if the employee asks | How it ended and, if the employer gave notice, why, if the employee asks | Cannot be waived to the employee's disadvantage |
| Norway | Name, date of birth, what the work consisted of, duration | For summary dismissal, the certificate may say the employee was dismissed | A fuller certificate only where customary and no collective agreement says otherwise |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- ABGB § 1163
- Applies to employment under the Dienstvertrag chapter of the ABGB. The employee may also ask for a certificate while still employed, at the employee's own cost.
- The ingested text of the section does not mention an assessment or the reason employment ended. The Angestelltengesetz has a parallel certificate rule for salaried employees, which is not tabulated separately.
ein schriftliches Zeugnis über die Dauer und Art der Dienstleistung auszustellendurch die dem Dienstnehmer die Erlangung einer neuen Stellung erschwert wird, sind unzulässig Germany
- Rule
- BGB § 630
- Applies when a lasting service relationship ends. For employees the section points to § 109 of the Gewerbeordnung, which is not ingested, so any further content rules for employees are not shown here.
- The section states no limit on what may be written and does not mention the reason employment ended.
ein schriftliches Zeugnis über das Dienstverhältnis und dessen Dauer fordernDas Zeugnis ist auf Verlangen auf die Leistungen und die Führung im Dienst zu erstrecken.Wenn der Verpflichtete ein Arbeitnehmer ist, findet § 109 der Gewerbeordnung Anwendung. France
- Rule
- Code du travail art. L1234-19
- Applies when an employment contract ends. The employer hands the certificate over without being asked.
- The Code article only fixes the duty; what the certificate contains is left to a regulation that is not ingested, so no further columns can be filled.
l'employeur délivre au salarié un certificat dont le contenu est déterminé par voie réglementaire Japan
- Rule
- 労働基準法 第22条
- Applies to workers on retirement, and the dismissal reason can be requested from the day dismissal notice is given. The employer must hand it over without delay.
- The statute also forbids an employer from agreeing with third parties to obstruct the worker's work through communications about nationality, creed, social status or union activity, or by secret marks on the certificate.
使用期間、業務の種類、その事業における地位、賃金又は退職の事由（退職の事由が解雇の場合にあつては、その理由を含む。）について証明書を請求した場合においては、使用者は、遅滞なくこれを交付しなければならない前二項の証明書には、労働者の請求しない事項を記入してはならない第一項及び第二項の証明書に秘密の記号を記入してはならない Netherlands
- Rule
- BW 7 art. 656
- Applies to every employment agreement, on the employee's request at the end. The employer is liable to the employee and to third parties for damage if it refuses, leaves out an item the employee asked for, or includes false statements.
- Where the employee gave notice and owes the employer compensation, the employer may say so in the certificate.
a. de aard van de verrichte arbeid en de arbeidsduur per dag of per week; b. de begindatum en de einddatum van het dienstverbandc. een opgave van de wijze waarop de werknemer aan zijn verplichtingen heeft voldaane. indien de werkgever de arbeidsovereenkomst heeft opgezegd, de reden daartoeworden slechts op verzoek van de werknemer in het getuigschrift vermeldVan dit artikel kan niet ten nadele van de werknemer worden afgeweken. Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 15-15
- Applies to an employee who leaves after a lawful notice of termination; an employee who is summarily dismissed also has the right. Employers need not state the grounds for a summary dismissal.
- The right to a more detailed certificate depends on custom in the type of employment and on any collective agreement.
hva arbeidet har bestått i og om arbeidsforholdets varighetrett til å kreve en mer utførlig attest i arbeidsforhold hvor dette er sedvane og ikke annet er fastsatt i tariffavtalearbeidsgiver kan uten nærmere angivelse av grunnen opplyse i attesten at arbeidstakeren er avskjediget Countries not in this table yet
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Spain and Sweden are not in the table: searches of the ingested acts for a certificate or reference duty found none, and this guide does not infer a rule from absence.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Right to a reference or work certificate, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/employment-reference-rights (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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