Former employer from over 5 years ago not responding to reference requests

If you only worked there a short period (presume a few months) then your new employer are been dicks. If all other references are good then should just move on. Not everyone will reply to references. In a previous company if we got reference requests we had to send to HR and it could take them a while to reply so a delay is not that unusual. The reference was only a statement of fact. x worked here from mmm/yy to mmm/yy as ***. Not much more

Can your old company not give a standard reference saying "Sono Topolino worked for x date to y date"? I work for a large multi national and that's the references they give out, since the new company is anal about HR policies then they should know that lots of companies only give basic references.

Find it hard to believe they don't have time to do a two line letter, something more going on here.

Did you explain to them it confirmation of employment not a character reference.

Hopefully he could then reply to the email with dates you worked there.

Good luck sounds very frustrating

In a regulated industry, all previous jobs likely have to be listed. If the OP left the job out, they would need to provide proof of whatever else they were doing at the time.

OP either try go get the old job to extend you a bit and try to resolve - or just look for a new job with less stringent checking.

Get a life

In fairness to your new employer, if a new employee's former boss won't even acknowledge that he worked there, that's ringing alarm bells for me. It's literally a thirty second phone call. Not a huge leap to think it might be more sinister.

It sounds like your former boss is being a prat but how is your new job supposed to know that?

No, it's not a 30 second phone call. It's a written statement, which the former employer is only willing to do if their solicitor checks it. Irksome, but understandable.

I would be looking for another new job, just in case you cannot get the ducks lined up for this one.

It's not as black and white as that. Fitness and probity requirements aren't so prescriptive and there's a element of commonsense to be taken in how they're met. Many employers limit references to confirm start and end dates no matter how good or bad an employee you were. And regulated firm's need to gather evidence from many different sources to complete the picture such as regulatory sanction databases, bankruptcy declarations, criminal conviction records etc. Not getting a reference for an employee for a short period of employment when it is abundantly clear the candidate worked there, given the circumstances, should not stop the person being employed.

I suspect the legality of that is non-existent.

The proportion of people who have worked for a firm that has ceased trading entirely will be very high, particularly those who were in employment prior to ~2012.

Preventing them from taking up a job on that basis would not have any justification

I am aware of this as well.

This is also a big difference between HR and the applicant.

HR tells the applicant: Congratulations on your job offer, lot's of nice and positive talk and bla bla bla, welcome to the company, you'll make a great addition to the team and aaaawesome experience.....

And applicant has to say something positive, pretend being happy, but in reality thinks: "I only believe it when I start working for them and all the references are fine...."

It's been like this for me every single time.....