Recruitment Advice

The recent ruling made by the European Court of Justice found that job adverts could lead to direct discrimination.

Whether you are doing your own recruitment or using recruitment consultants, you must be aware of what not to include in the company’s job adverts. Job advertisements can include emails, direct mail, newspapers, online or on the TV.

There are very few UK positions where you can specifically ask for a individual from a particular back ground or community. To make sure your adverts do not fall foul of discrimination law you must avoid:

• Advertisements that include any age limits, unless this can be justified ie serving alcohol. Using words like mature, young and dynamic should not be included.
• Stating a preference on gender,  or gender specific job titles such as handyman or sales girl should be avoided.
• It could be discriminatory to restrict a job advertisement to a specific religious publication, as people from other religious groups or beliefs would be less likely to see the publication.