Employer wont provide reference for UCAS application.

UCAS applications will generally need an academic reference, rather than a professional one.

I would contact your target unis and explain your circumstances, they will explain what kind of ref you can provide, or if it is possible to submit your app without one.

On the UCAS site I come under an "Independent Applicant" it even says on there if you are in full time work you can just have your employer provide your reference. That's the route I'm trying to do.

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what has been a very frustrating situation for me.
I'm currently applying to return to University for September 2021 and have completed all fields in my UCAS application since November 1st.
All I require now is the reference and as I have been in full time employment with Sainsbury's for the last five years all I need is for them to provide me with a reference but they keep refusing to do so.
They've changed the company policy so references have to be provided through a HR email which is failing to do so. They have confirmed that they are receiving the emails from UCAS in regards to suppling a reference but wont click the link provided in the email for the reason "It could give them a virus"
No manager in the store will provide one and I feel like I'm now stuck in a loop with them refusing to do something so simple. I've spent to much time arguing with them now and I feel like I'm rightly frustrated with them causing this issue as it's the only thing stopping me from sending of my application.

I'm sorry for the long winded explanation, but I would greatly appreciate any suggestions of a way to fix this? or get around it?

Hi - I am just commenting to inform future applicants who may be facing a similar situation. I would advise you to see if you can apply for the course without a reference, this may depend on the course so please call the Uni admission team to check. In most cases, you can submit and after you receive offers, conditions may apply including that a reference will need to be sent to the Uni in order to accept the course. (There should be no reason your employer cannot submit a normal reference - I haven't tried with my employer so I'm not sure if they'll cause a problem about this)


I applied for Computer Science (start in Sep 2022) which is a basic knowledge-based course rather than placement driven. If you are applying for a service type course, like nursing, I think it is imperative to have a UCAS reference BUT I would advise you to call your option's admission team to check for certain.

In a scenario where you have recently left school, I would encourage you to reach out to your college and ask if they can complete the reference. Most colleges do support gap year students and offer them the school code or contacts etc. I know my college had sent me this info during my gap year. If you do have college contacts - do reach out to them!

MY EXPERIENCE
I completed A-levels in 2019 but now wanted to apply for a course that starts in 2022. As it had officially been 2-3 years since I had left college, I didn't feel comfortable reaching out to them so I had asked my manager. Unfortunately, the company I worked for said that they could not complete the reference as UCAS doesn't permit employment attendance as a referral. When I informed Uni admission staff regarding this, they were quite shocked and said that referrals are just descriptions of character. But I think the main struggle is that employee referrals do not have academically influenced opinion - not sure how this would work if someone like your volunteer manager completed it. Honestly, this part frustrated me because there was no real reason my manager couldn't complete it, but because the company didn't feel it was plausible, it made the application process a bit more tedious.

When I called the admissions team, they checked what course I wanted to apply to and said I could submit but warned referrals will be needed to be sent at some point by the Uni. Most informed the reference would have to be emailed to the admissions team. As this is not a UCAS reference, your employers should be obliged to send a reference. (I am planning to request the referral after I have received my offers as I would only want them to complete a referral for the one Uni I will go to).

I submitted and received conditional offers from 2 Unis which had outlined that I send a reference to their University admissions emails. I also received 1 unconditional offer (which did not mention a referral). And I am waiting on 2 others for now. As I am accepting the unconditional offer, I am not sure how to comment on the process of whether old employers will send a reference to Unis.

None of my options was Russell Group Unis so I am unsure if they would do this differently.


I really hope this experience helps and encourages others to apply in future despite struggles to get a reference from current employers