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RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING - WHAT NOT TO WRITE!

October 2006 saw the introduction of significant changes to discrimination legislation, with particular reference to discrimination on the basis of Age.  

Everyone who writes recruitment campaigns or vacancy adverts, has a responsibility to be aware and abide by legislation that can impact on the recruitment process including;  

- The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations Act
- The Race Relations Act
- The Sex Discrimination Acts (and the Equal Pay Act)
- The Disability Discrimination Act.  

It is now unlawful to discriminate against individuals on the basis of age in recruitment and employment.  

In this article we will cover some of the more common mistakes found in recruitment campaigns and vacancy adverts.  

Discrimination, both direct and indirect, must be avoided.   Whilst direct discrimination may be obvious, it is indirect discrimination that serves to make employers wary about writing recruitment campaigns and vacancy adverts.  

This article does not serve to provide legal information or advice, but to highlight some of the more common areas of Age Discrimination found in recruitment campaigns and vacancy adverts.   If you are in any doubt about the content of your recruitment campaign of vacancy advert you should seek independent legal advice.  

Errors appear more commonly in the following areas.  

· Age
· Qualifications
· Language Restrictions
· Job Titles
· Working Environment & Stereotypes 

AGE

Being specific about whether a job seeker should be 'young', ‘old’ or ‘mature’ constitutes age discrimination.

Specifying the number of years experience required i.e. ‘a minimum of 10 years experience’ may also be deemed indirectly to discriminate and should be avoided unless justified.  

QUALIFICATIONS

Being specific about the type of qualification may also be deemed discriminatory.

For example, requesting that an applicant ‘must have 5 GCSEs grade C and above’ would discriminate against someone who comes from a country where GCSEs are not taken and a statement like ‘must be from a red brick university’ would discriminate against someone who has graduated from a university abroad.   You should always state ‘or equivalent’ when asking for specific qualifications.  

LANGUAGE RESTRICTIONS

A statement like ‘must have mother tongue English’ would imply that the job seekers must have been born in the UK.   As an alternative it would be better to specify that the job seeker should have fluent English.  

JOB TITLES

In the commercial world a job title such as ‘Barman’ should not be used.   Instead titles like ‘Bartender’ or ‘Barperson’ should be considered.  

Does this just serve to fuel the debate over the title of a professional in the field of legal costs?  

Costs Draftsman?

Costs Draftswoman?

Costs Draftsperson?  

Which one is correct?  

WORKING ENVIRONMENT & STEREOTYPES

Using terms such as ‘required to work in a young and dynamic environment’ or ‘suitable for someone who can work in a mature and quiet office’ may also be deemed indirectly discriminatory.  

When formulating a recruitment campaign or vacancy advert remember the following:  

· Quality and relevance of experience are important - not the number of years.

· Use words such as ‘Junior’ & ‘Senior’ with caution unless they can be objectively justified.

· Use language that appeals to wider groups.

Author: David Sparkes

Published in: ALCD Journal (Association of Law Costs Draftsmen)

Dated: December 2006

The opinions and views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.   The author accepts no liability for error, omission or misstatement contained within the article.

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