Managers guide to interviewing

Avoiding discrimination

Anti-discrimination legislation applies throughout the recruitment process, including selection interviews.

Employers are legally accountable for any discriminatory conduct taken by their employees while on the job. This means that if a manager conducting recruitment interviews does or says anything that might be perceived as discriminatory, the employer may be obliged to compensate the victim if a successful complaint is later brought to an employment tribunal.

A job candidate who feels he or she has been subjected to discriminatory treatment throughout the recruitment process has three calendar months from the date of the alleged discrimination to make a claim with a tribunal.

Tribunals have no limit on the amount of compensation they can award in discrimination cases.

Legislation

Job applicants enjoy protection against discrimination because of:

• sex;
• transgender status (i.e. where a job applicant has had a sex change or is in the process of changing sex);
• pregnancy and maternity;
• marriage or civil partnership;
• race, colour, nationality, ethnic origins and national origins;
• religion or belief;
• sexual orientation;
• age; and
• disability.

Rejection for employment is also illegal if it is based on a candidate's previous or current trade union membership or, with limited circumstances, a 'spent' criminal record.

The general principle established in the United Kingdom's anti-discrimination legislation is that all job candidates must be treated equally, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or other factors. The framework of disability law is slightly different in that an employer may choose to treat a disabled candidate more favourably than other candidates if they so want (and in some circumstances, must treat a disabled candidate more favourably than other candidates).

Discrimination can be direct, in which an individual is targeted because he or she possesses a protected characteristic, because he or she associates with someone who possesses a protected characteristic (for example, if an applicant has a disabled son), or because the employer incorrectly believes that he or she possesses a protected characteristic.

Indirect discrimination is also possible. Indirect discrimination arises when an employer unjustifiably imposes a condition as part of the recruiting process that, while applicable to all job candidates, disadvantages particular persons. For example, requiring job candidates to speak or write English fluently may be an example. This condition will implicitly discriminate against persons from countries where English is not the first language. Such a condition would be racially discriminatory and illegal unless the employer could demonstrate that it was suitable and required for the proper execution of the work, and that it was not excessive in proportion to the job's demands.

It makes no difference whether the discriminating treatment is deliberate or not.

Interview best practice

The primary goal of a recruitment interview is to evaluate job candidates' abilities, experience, and general background in order to determine which candidate is the best fit for a certain position. As a result, questions should be tailored to elicit facts, and interviewers should avoid making conclusions based on assumptions about candidates based on their own subjective ideas and beliefs.

Managers should establish a list of essential interview questions to ask all applicants for a certain position. Because all candidates will be given an equal opportunity to promote their talents and abilities, this technique ensures consistency and fairness. Managers should not, however, limit themselves to asking simply these questions, since there may be times when they will need to ask questions that are relevant to a certain candidate, such as clarifying something confusing or ambiguous on an application form or inquiring about a gap between employment. Furthermore, additional unplanned