Employment Law & Recruitment

Legislation that you must comply with during the recruitment process:

•Equality Act 2010

•Identity checks to ensure eligibility to work in the UK

Types of Discrimination

• Direct discrimination• Associative discrimination• Perceptive discrimination• Indirect discrimination

Equality Act 2010

9 Protected Characteristics: •Age•Disability •Gender Reassignment •Marriage and Civil Partnership •Pregnancy and Maternity •Race •Religion or Belief• Sex •Sexual Orientation

Equal Pay

• Direct sex discrimination to pay someone less than they would receive if they were of a different gender

Genuine Occupational Requirement

• In some circumstances, you can state that being of a particular sex, race, religion/belief, age or sexual orientation is an occupational requirement for the job.

Positive Discrimination

• When can you positively discriminate?• How can you positively discriminate?

Employment Tribunals

• Unsuccessful applicants may make a claim to an Employment Tribunal if they believe you have unlawfully discriminated in the recruitment process.

• The tribunal will assess the amount that the claimant would have earned if he or she had been appointed. 

Protecting Yourself Against a Claim

• Advertisement • Job Descriptions• Person Specifications• Interviews• Interview tests• Pre-employment checks • Record keeping

Best practice interviews

• More than one interviewer• Questioning the skills and competencies

outlined in the job description/person spec• Planned and consistent objective

questioning – working to an interview plan• Tests relevant to the skills and

competencies required – using a matrix system to score all applicants

Health Checks

You can:•Ask at interview if there is anything in the job that would present an issue to the candidate•Ask if they believe that they require any adjustments to be able to carry out the role•Arrange post-interview health checks carried out by a fully qualified Occupational Health practitioner

Identity Checks

• Successful applicants must be asked to provide original documentation for proof of eligibility to work in the UK before they can be legally employed.

• UKBA provide guidance on their website about what documents to check, what they look like and how to carry out the checks

Job Offers

Conditional job offers on satisfactory:•Proof of eligibility to work in the UK•Post interview health check•CRB check•Reference check•Qualification checks