TSC

Recruitment is a tricky thing to master.  Employment law is continually changing and being updated. The Equality Act 2010 is one such piece of legislation that is forcing changes in the internal recruitment policies of businesses throughout the UK.  National Minimum Wage and Employment Agency Standards are there to ensure employees are treated fairly.

For employment agencies, typically recruitment consultancies that not only place applicants in new full-time positions but also employ staff on a temporary basis to fill temporary vacancies, have their own set of laws to content with.  Namely, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations broadly lays out the responsibilities of the agencies and their applicants.

Employment Law for Companies

Advertising & Recruitment

Job advertisement is the first area where one needs to be careful.  The advertisement needs to provide clear information regarding what the job entails, the type of skills needed and other relevant information.  Areas one needs to be particularly careful with are to do with not breaching employment laws by being too specific as to your exact needs.  This might not be immediately obvious right away.

One example would be a role that has typically been filled by a man because it involves some heavy lifting and yet some women would have the necessary strength to fulfil the job requirements.  Therefore, one could not advertise that one is looking for a man for the position.  This would be sexual discrimination and leave the business open to prosecution.  An employer is only allowed to narrow down the suitability if it can be shown that only that category of person could perform the role to an acceptable standard. Remember to always consult a corporate solicitor or HR specialist if you are unsure about anything.

Disabilities are a tricky area and need to be handled carefully.  Could adjustments be made to enable someone with a disability to perform the role satisfactorily?  One is not allowed to discriminate against people with disabilities.  Age, sex, sexual orientation and race are all protected against in terms of discrimination too.

Other more obvious legal breaches would be requesting a working week that exceeds the maximum allowable workable hours or offering a wage that is below the current national minimum wage for the applicant’s age group.

Job interviews

With interviews, one needs to be careful in both conduct during the interview and the types of questions asked of the applicant.

To be safe, it is best to look dispassionately at the requirements of the role to be filled and ask only relevant questions as to the qualification and experience of the applicant.  One is not allowed to discriminate for the same reasons as with advertising available positions.  Therefore, one cannot suggest that a person is too old to take on the role.  Better instead to pose questions to the applicant to inquire how they think they would personally perform in the position.  This protects the employer from appearing unfavourably biased.

Employment Law for Recruitment Agencies

Recruitment agencies are required to have enough information about an applicant before sending their CV to the company with a position to fill. The necessary details include:

•    The identity of the job seeker.
•    Whether the job seeker has agreed to be put forward for the role.
•    Whether the job seeker given permission for their CV to be submitted to appropriate companies.
•    The job seekers education, experience and training, along with any permissions necessary to work in that field or industry.

In turn, employment agencies have the responsibility to ensure they have appropriate information about the company and their role before putting forward an applicant for consideration.  These include:

•    Company name and type of business.
•    Job commencement date.
•    Job details, including the role, the hours, work location and any issues regarding health and safety to be concerned with.
•    Minimum acceptable salary and benefits, and payroll arrangements.
•    The notice period in the employment contract.

Remember that for proper legal advise you must consult an appropriately qualified solicitor. So you need to find a corporate lawyer or even a specialist in recruitment and HR law. Using your local no win no fee solicitor, clinical negligence lawyer or personal injury solicitor will not be good enough, as you must find someone with the appropriate skills to deal with your enquiry and act for you in court should a case arise.