How To Be Specific About Who You Want, Without Discriminating

Recruitment Forces You To Discriminate – Whether You Like It Or Not

You have to go through a process that allows you to uncover the distinction between your candidates and choose the best one. What you mustn’t do is make an unjust or prejudicial distinction in the treatment of different categories of people.

Where the law stands on discrimination

Here’s what the YOU.GOV website has to say:

“It’s against the law to treat someone less favourably than someone else because of a personal characteristic … Discrimination does not have to be deliberate and intentional. You can discriminate indirectly with working conditions or rules that disadvantage one group of people more than another.”

If this sounds ultra-PC, remember it was written to protect those who are discriminated against. It’s worth noting that you can’t get round this by only recruiting in specific locations; advertising for a biologist in New Scientist is OK, recruiting an accountant via FHM is not.

Separate the skills from the person

The key is to focus on the skills you need rather than what kind of person might have them. This extends to softer skills such as teamwork, dedication and attention to detail.

Let’s look at a couple of scenarios where you might be in danger of crossing the line:

Scenario 1:

You are running a fledgling business. You can just afford to recruit a business manager but they’ll need to be hands on, working long hours to help build the business. They’ll need to occasionally work into the evenings and be dedicated to their job 100%.

You might be tempted to:

Shortlist men preferentially as, in your experience, they’re less likely to disappear at short notice to deal with a child-related crisis. You’ve seen first hand how difficult this is for your female friends and you don’t want to put anyone in a difficult position. But – you’re in danger of discriminating by sex.

Do this instead:

Be very clear what your expectations are for the role. State that the right candidate needs to be dedicated and to be able to work at erratic times at short notice. (A word of warning though, there are laws governing how many hours per week someone can work, it’s best to focus on flexibility rather than long, gruelling hours).

Scenario 2:

You run a restaurant and need someone to clear tables during your busy periods at weekend lunchtimes and evenings. It’s hard, physical work, you don’t pay much and Friday and Saturday nights can be quite late.

You might be tempted to:

Place an ad in the local student rag. You know the hours, pay and type of work would be ideal for a student who needs a bit of extra cash here and there. Again, you might think you’re doing a good turn; you’re actually in danger of discriminating by age.

Do this instead:

Place an ad in the window, in the student rag and the local paper. State hours, pay and describe the type of work. You’ll probably end up with a student anyway, but you can recruit with a clear conscience.

Ready to start your recruitment process? Give us a call today and let’s find you your next star employee: 01256 322 255.

It’s easy to make mistakes, but the more specific you are about the role, the easier it will be for you to find the person you envisaged in the position.