Category: Recruitment Agency News

Anyone looking to take on professional contractors or other employees should carefully consider their processes, it has been advised.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has called on employers to scrutinise their recruitment policies to ensure they do not put up barriers and prevent certain people from applying.

Its advice followed news of Jobcentre Plus comments on job adverts, one of which called for a "reliable" person and one for a "junior stylist" at a hairdressing salon.

Such incidents can turn equality and diversity agenda into a "laughing stock", REC's director of external relations Tom Hadley told Personnel Today.

"The bigger agenda is how we review how we recruit and are we indirectly putting barriers up?" he said.

Skills, achievements and competence should be the focus of recruitment, not personal details, Mr Hadley added.

Under equality and discrimination law, employers can collect information on factors such as race and ethnicity when recruiting but applicants are not obliged to give this information.

Posted by John Crawley