Simon:
Welcome to our webinar on winning the war for talent, effective recruitment, and inclusive hiring strategies. My name is Simon Reynolds. I’m one of the senior legal solutions consultants here at LegalVision. We’re very fortunate to be joined by Saeidul Haque, one of our senior associates specialising in employment law and health and safety. It’s great to have Saeidul with us today.
Before we begin, a couple of housekeeping items. Firstly, by viewing this webinar, you’ll receive a recording and slides in your email. Secondly, throughout the webinar, any questions you submit via the Q&A box will be answered at the end. Please feel free to ask your questions. Lastly, we kindly ask that you complete the feedback survey after the webinar. We always look to improve, and your feedback is really appreciated.
Everyone on this webinar is entitled to a complimentary health check consultation. By viewing this webinar, you gain access to that. Every business is unique, and every sector has different legal requirements. We would love to discuss your specific needs and how we can add value from a legal perspective. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of this consultation.
Now, I’ll pass it over to Saeidul, who will take us through our agenda. I’ll be back shortly.
This guide will help you understand the moving parts behind building a high-performing team.
Saeidul:
Thank you so much, Simon. Good morning, everyone. Today, we’re going to cover all things recruitment. We’ll start by looking at the modern recruitment landscape. Then, we’ll discuss equality, diversity, and inclusion, followed by effective recruitment structuring and interviewing skills. Finally, we’ll explore the rise of AI and recruitment agencies, and we’ll have a Q&A at the end. Please continue to submit your questions throughout the webinar.
Let’s start with the modern landscape. Every employer wants to hire the best candidates and ensure they are shortlisted for interviews and ultimately hired. Employers must implement a robust recruitment strategy that takes into account the evolving modern recruitment landscape.
In particular, employers should be mindful of the Equality Act 2010, which protects individuals with protected characteristics. Additionally, you should ensure compliance with data protection measures and the UK GDPR in relation to recruitment. We also need to consider the safe and legally compliant use of AI in recruitment where relevant.
There’s also the growing use of online platforms, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, which employers should utilise to access a wider pool of talent.
Now, when we look at equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace, it essentially means equal job opportunities and fairness for all employees or job applicants. This area is governed by the Equality Act 2010. It sets out that employers must not directly or indirectly discriminate against employees or job applicants because of a protected characteristic, of which there are nine, including disability, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief.
Discrimination can take many forms. It could be direct discrimination, where someone is disadvantaged or treated less favourably because of their protected characteristic. An exception is pregnancy and maternity discrimination, where the affected individual is treated unfavourably without the need for a comparator.
Indirect discrimination involves a provision, criterion, or practice (PCP) that applies to everyone but disadvantages those with a protected characteristic. There are other forms of discrimination, such as harassment and failure to make reasonable adjustments, but we won’t delve too much into those here.
For example, rejecting a candidate’s application because of their age, despite meeting all the job requirements, could be considered discrimination based on unconscious bias. Similarly, setting unnecessary physical requirements for a role that disadvantages people with disabilities could be discriminatory.
How does the Equality Act impact recruitment practices? It affects job adverts, where you should avoid language that discourages applicants with protected characteristics. For instance, terms like “young and dynamic” could discourage older candidates. Job adverts should focus on genuine role requirements rather than unnecessary physical requirements.
Additionally, including an equality statement in job adverts that welcomes diverse applicants is a good practice. You could state that the company will make adjustments for anyone requiring them.
When it comes to application forms, avoid questions about age, marital status, or family plans, as they are often irrelevant to the role. Instead, focus on questions directly related to the job.
To reduce unconscious bias, you might consider an anonymised application process. Also, it’s beneficial to train interviewers to identify unconscious bias and understand equality law.
You should use structured interview processes with consistent questions for all candidates. Inappropriate questions, such as those about family plans, marital status, or health, should be avoided unless there is a genuine occupational requirement.
When deciding who to hire, base your decision on objective, job-related criteria. Document the reasons for your hiring decisions to defend against any potential challenges.
If possible, consider having a diverse interview panel, including individuals from protected characteristic groups.
Simon:
That’s a great overview, Saeidul. Let’s move on to sourcing candidates.
Saeidul:
The sourcing stage involves following your internal recruitment policy, whether the job needs to be advertised internally or externally, and ensuring that you advertise the role in a way that reaches a wide range of candidates. Job adverts should be placed on multiple platforms, such as LinkedIn and job boards like Indeed.
The advert should include a job description, application form (if necessary), and information about the company. You should also notify applicants that they can request reasonable adjustments during the interview process if needed.
When advertising the role, ensure compliance with the Equality Act by offering adjustments to applicants with health conditions. Additionally, applicants must prove their right to work in the UK and may need to provide references.
Simon:
Great insights on the sourcing process, Saeidul. Now let’s move on to the interviewing stage.
Saeidul:
In the interview preparation stage, carefully review the job description and candidate applications. Prepare structured questions based on essential and desirable criteria.
It’s important to train interviewers on unconscious bias and ensure they ask consistent questions to all candidates. A scoring system for evaluating candidates can help reduce bias.
During the interview, avoid asking questions about personal matters that could be discriminatory, such as health, family, or marital status, unless there’s a genuine occupational requirement.
After the interview, score the responses objectively and document the reasons for your decisions.
Simon:
So, when it comes to the hiring stage, Saeidul, what are the key considerations for employers?
Saeidul:
After the interview, offer the job to the best candidate based on objective criteria. You should notify candidates of your decision promptly, either via phone or in writing, with clear explanations.
In the job offer letter, include the job title, terms of employment, salary, hours, benefits, and start date. Ensure the letter clearly states whether the offer is conditional, such as needing references or a background check.
Finally, when withdrawing a job offer, ensure you have objective reasons for doing so. Otherwise, it may be seen as discriminatory.
Simon:
That’s very helpful, Saeidul. Let’s move on to the use of AI in recruitment.
Saeidul:
AI is becoming more prevalent in recruitment. It’s used by candidates to draft cover letters, update CVs, and answer questions during interviews. Employers also use AI to identify necessary skills and qualifications, create job specs, screen CVs, and filter out candidates who don’t meet criteria.
However, the main legal risk with AI is that it’s largely unregulated. Employers should ensure transparency about AI use and obtain consent from candidates. There should always be human oversight in the process.
Simon:
It’s clear that AI can streamline recruitment, but human oversight is still essential.
Saeidul:
Exactly, Simon. Regular audits of AI use are important to ensure compliance with data protection laws.
Simon:
That’s great advice. Thank you, Saeidul.
We’ve covered a lot today, but there’s still much more to learn. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a free legal health check consultation.
Thank you all for joining today’s webinar.
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