Hiring employees

This month’s business briefing provides an overview of the key legal issues an employer needs to consider when recruiting a new employee.

Employers need to consider their individual position and seek legal advice if they are concerned or unsure of the recruitment process and the potential pitfalls.

Before advertising

• Make sure all staff involved in the recruitment process have had equal opportunities training (and they continue to receive it while working for the business).
• Draw-up the following documents:
  • a job description which sets out the title and main purpose of the job, the place of the job holder within the business and the main tasks or responsibilities of the post.
  • a person specification which details the experience, know-how and qualifications, skills and abilities necessary for the job in question. The requirements can be split between those that are “essential” for the job and those that are merely “desirable”.
• Ensure that none of the requirements in either document discriminates against any groups of employees. In particular, consider whether any requirements for specific qualifications, working hours or times, travel, age ranges or dress are necessary for the job in question.

The advert

• Decide whether the job should be advertised internally, externally or both.
• Consider using specialist publications, websites and agencies to target different communities, ages and sexes.
• Think carefully when writing the advert. Protection from discrimination because of a protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation) covers all areas of employment, including job adverts. For example, avoid using language that might imply only someone of a certain age would be suitable (for example, “mature”, “experienced” or “young”).
• Ensure any employees absent from work (including women on maternity leave or those on long-term sick leave) are informed of the vacancy to enable them to apply. Failure to do so could amount to discrimination.

The application

• Use a standard application form to enable individual applicants’ answers to be directly compared against the selection criteria more easily and help avoid potential unlawful discrimination claims.
• Draw up a shortlist using the same criteria used in the job description and person specification. Every applicant should be marked against the same criteria to help avoid any potential unlawful discrimination claims.
• If a business is making redundancies, it must consider applications for suitable vacancies from employees selected for redundancy ahead of external applicants. Women selected for redundancy while on maternity leave are entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy (where one is available) in priority to other potentially redundant employees.

Pre-employment health questions

• In most cases, a business is prohibited from asking potential recruits questions about their health (for example, businesses should avoid asking questions about an applicant’s sickness absence record).  There are some exceptions and this does not prevent businesses from checking whether an applicant has any special requirements it needs to take into account when making the arrangements for interview, such as wheelchair access.

The interview

• Think when and where the interview should take place.
• All shortlisted candidates should be asked the same or similar questions to allow answers to be compared and to avoid the possibility of a discrimination claim.
• Avoid asking questions about a candidate’s personal life unless they are directly relevant to the requirements of the job (for example, it is unacceptable to ask a female candidate whether she plans to have children).
• Keep a paper trail throughout the process to demonstrate how the business reached its decision to select the successful candidate. This should include:
  • selection criteria;
  • notes on the short listing process;
  • interview questions;
  • notes of panellists’ assessments of the interviewees.
• It is good practice to provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates if it is requested. A failure to do so could indicate that a decision was based on discriminatory grounds.

The offer

• Make a written offer to the successful candidate. Consider whether to set a time limit for acceptance and specify that acceptance should be in writing.
• Consider whether the offer needs to be conditionl. For example:
  • providing satisfactory references; or
  • confirmation that the employee is free to work in the UK or has an appropriate work permit or immigration approval to work.
• It may also be wise, before making a job offer, to ask the applicant to confirm they are not bound by any restrictive covenants from their previous job.

The contract

• Consider whether the contract should be permanent or for a fixed term.
• Remember that an employee on a fixed-term or part-time contract should not be treated any less favourably than a permanent employee (for example, they should be allowed access to a company bonus scheme or instead receive an equivalent benefit).

Probationary periods

• A probationary period can be included in the contract. This will enable the business to assess the employee and vice versa. It also gives it the flexibility to dismiss someone using a shorter notice period of at least one week.
• Probationary periods typically last between three to six months and can be extended with the consent of the employee at the end of the term (for example, if the employee was sick and the business was unable to adequately assess their performance, it may want to extend the period).