Prevent discrimination and value diversity

Discrimination in recruitment and induction

It is important to avoid discrimination in recruitment and induction processes. Not only is this fair and required by law, but it also gives you the best chance of getting the right person for the job.

Remember - someone might be able to take you to an employment tribunal, even though they're not an employee, if they believe they weren't selected for a particular job for discriminatory reasons.

Make sure that you follow the revised Code of Practice on racial equality in employment that was introduced on 22 November 2005. It becomes statutory from 6 April 2006. Download guidance on achieving racial equality in employment from the Commission of Racial Equality website (PDF).

According to the Disability Discrimination Act, as of 1 October 2004, special care must be taken in the wording and placing of recruitment advertisements to avoid seeming to prefer one type of person over another. In addition, with effect from 5 December 2005, third-party publishers, eg newspapers, are liable for publishing discriminatory advertisements.

It is unlawful for the person offering the job to publish an advertisement that suggests:

• the success of a person's job application depends on them not having any disability
• the person determining the application is reluctant to make reasonable adjustments

While it is rare to see advertisements specifying a particular race or gender, age discrimination is still common with phrases such as "young", "would suit someone who has just qualified" or "minimum of ten years' experience".

This is likely to lessen when proposed anti-age discrimination legislation is enacted but it is good practice to take action on this now. See the page in this guide on age discrimination.

In certain circumstances discrimination may be allowed if it is seen to be a genuine occupational qualification for the job in question.

When interviewing people for a job there are certain questions you should not ask, either directly or indirectly, including whether a candidate is married, a partner in a same-sex civil partnership, or plans to have children. You must not attempt to elicit information about a person's sexual orientation or their religion. Read about the actions you should take to give equal treatment to civil partners in your policies, forms and other material on the ACAS website.

Care should also be taken when asking about a disability. Whilst the Disability Discrimination Act does not prohibit an employer from seeking information about a disability, that information must not be used to discriminate against a disabled person. An employer should only ask such questions if they are relevant to the person's ability to do the job, after a reasonable adjustment, if necessary.

This approach should be applied throughout meetings and induction.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Discrimination in recruitment and induction
• Sex discrimination
• Age discrimination
• Discrimination against disabled people
• Discrimination on the grounds of race
• Discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief
• Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation
• Discrimination over membership or non-membership of unions
• Discrimination in day-to-day working practices

 Print This Page

Source - Business Link; Crown Copyright.