I know a good referee but they are not a Registered Member or Fellow of the Institute. What should I do?

Like all professional bodies, we depend on qualified peer review to assess the competence, quality and professionalism of our prospective members. So we might have a problem if your chosen referees are not Fellows or Registered Members, in knowing what they are referencing when making their judgment about you. Consequently, we would encourage you to look hard for a suitable Institute member. However, we recognise there can be difficulties, for example when there are no qualified ergonomists within your organisation, or when you are working outside the UK. In these cases we will be prepared to accept prospective referees who are very knowledgeable about your work and the way you conduct it, for example, your immediate supervisor. Ideally, they should be qualified members of a professional body in a complementary discipline, for example, a chartered engineer or psychologist (in the UK), or an Ing. (across parts of Europe).

If you have any questions or doubts about the acceptability of your prospective referee, please ask us.