Lesson 3: Legal Issues Affecting Recruitment The main legal issues which affect recruitment are:

and Selection
1. the need to have a discrimination-free process
Recruitment — Legal Issues: In-depth 2. the need for an awareness of the limitations on the
employment of children
The laws governing discrimination play an important 3. the treatment of candidates with past convictions
role at every stage of the recruitment and selection
process. Employers should judge job applicants Recruitment
against a range of objective criteria, e.g., skills,
knowledge, and experience, not personal factors. Like any other business activity, recruitment needs to
be carefully considered and properly planned, if it is to
Employers' Duties Employers should make sure be successful. The potential for discrimination exists in
that: most of the activities an organization will undertake
during the recruitment process, and HR and line
1. no applicant is treated less favorably on the grounds of managers need to be aware of the potential pitfalls
age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief,
sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, Scope of Discrimination Legislation
pregnancy or maternity, or trade union membership or non-
membership The main legislation is the Equality Act 2010 (Republic
Act No. 9710). Employers must ensure that “All
2. provisions on occupational requirements are complied with
where a person specification indicates that someone of a
individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the
particular sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age inherent dignity of each human person. No one,
group is required for a specific post therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis of
ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation,
3. consideration is given to any provision, criterion or practice race, color, religion, political, or other opinion, national,
(in the person specification) which, although neutral in effect, social, or geographical origin, disability, property, birth,
might, under law, be indirectly discriminatory against or other status as established by human rights
particular groups of applicants
standards”.
4. reasonable adjustments are made for applicants who are
disabled “Race” is defined as including color, nationality, ethnic
origins, and national origins. “Caste" (meaning
5. no pressure to discriminate is placed on any staff involved characteristics determined by a person's class or
in recruitment and selection or any agency acting on behalf of descent) is not currently included in the list of
the organization subheadings of "race" in the Equality Act 2010.It is
unlawful to refuse to employ someone because he or
6. they are aware of the liability of employers for acts of
she is, or has been, a trade union member. This means
discrimination by employees acting in the course of
employment, including where managers and other members
that if a particular job applicant is or has in the past
of staff commit these been a trade union member, this fact must be
disregarded when making the selection decision.
7. they are aware that an employer’s defense to a claim of
discrimination is to show that it took all reasonably practicable Recruitment Processes and the Potential for
steps to prevent the act of discrimination Discrimination
8. proper checks are carried out to ensure the selected
candidate has the right to work
Job Description and Person Specification
9. the terms of an offer of employment are carefully scrutinized
There are several ways in which unlawful
to ensure that both parties fully understand contractual discrimination might arise regarding the job description
obligations and the person specification.

10. the terms and conditions of employment are consistent Job title
with statutory requirements and minimum standards A job title should be gender-neutral so as not to convey
that the post is for men or women only unless an
11. the laws relating to children and young people are
occupational requirement is applicable.
complied with

12. checks on health, qualifications and/or criminal records, Job description

and requests for references are made appropriately Any existing job description should be carefully
analyzed and reviewed, or if no job description exists,
13. data relating to recruitment and selection is processed one should be prepared for recruitment.
following data protection legislation and guidance from the
Information Commissioner Job duties
The duties of the job should be listed objectively and
14. the recruitment and selection process are monitored to
ensure that there is no discriminatory treatment (this is a duty should be appropriate to the position advertised.
for public authorities under the Equality Act 2010).
Occupational Requirements
Employees' Duties Employees should make sure Under the Equality Act 2010, it may be possible for an
that: employer to assert that it is an occupational
1. they are honest in the personal information they requirement of the job that must be done by someone
provide during the recruitment and selection who: - is either a man or a woman belongs to a
process particular racial group- holds to a specified religion or
2. they facilitate appropriate checks that the belief- is of a specified sexual orientation (e.g., gay)-
employer seeks to make about their health, possesses a characteristic related to age.
qualifications, right to work in the UK and criminal
record Person Specification
3. they provide, as required, the names of suitable The person specification should be drawn up
referees objectively, taking care to ensure that all the criteria
4. they abide by any agreement they reach on included are appropriate and relevant to the job's
accepting employment. performance in question, not based on the personal
opinions of a particular manager.

Age
Since the implementation of the Employment Equality
(Age) Regulations 2006 on 1October 2006, (the
relevant legislation is now the Equality Act 2010) any
criterion for a minimum or a maximum number of years
of experience in a person specification will be indirectly based on the interviewer's personal preferences. Using
discriminatory on the grounds of age against younger more than one interviewer can help to cut down on the
or older candidates respectively. potential for bias.

Ability to speak fluent English Automated decision-making

Under Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, public sector Some employers may use “automated decision-
employers must ensure that all staff who work in making” to screen job applicants, particularly at the
customer-facing roles have a sufficient level of fluency shortlisting stage, i.e., where a computerized system
in the English language. This requirement affects all alone selects the people to be shortlisted based on pre-
workers who work directly with the public (including set criteria. Under the Data Protection Act 2018, if an
agency staff and self-employed contractors). employer takes a "qualifying significant decision"
concerning a job applicant based solely on automated
Flexibility processing, the individual must be notified of this in
A range of possible flexibilities may be specified as writing as soon as is reasonably practicable. A
employment conditions provided, they are relevant and "qualifying significant decision" is a decision that
necessary for the job in question. Usually, these will relates to the individual and which significantly affects
cover work location and working time. him or her, or which “produces legal effects
“concerning him or her.
Full-time working
Although full-time working may be specified, a refusal Making an offer of employment
to consider employing a female job applicant who has The offer of employment should indicate a start date
children on a part-time or job-share basis may amount and terms consistent with legislation on pay, working
to indirect sex discrimination against her if she is time, annual leave, etc. If a term is considered
otherwise the most suitable candidate for the job and discriminatory or otherwise unlawful, it may be void.
the refusal cannot be justified on objective job-based
grounds. Medical checks
It is permissible for employers to seek to establish that
Skills and experience the person they intend to appoint is medically fit to
The skills, aptitudes, knowledge, experience, and perform the work. Under the Equality Act 2010,
competence required for the job should be clearly and however, it is potentially discriminatory (on the grounds
objectively defined. Attracting suitable candidates of disability) to conduct a medical check on a job
Employers may elect to use a range of methods to applicant before an offer of employment being made,
attract suitable candidates to apply for the vacant except in defined circumstances.
job(s), including media advertising, online advertising,
employment agencies, head-hunters, job centers, and Qualifications
career fairs. Employers should always verify that the applicant they
wish to appoint has the qualifications they claim to
Advertising have, provided these are relevant and necessary for
It is important that job advertisements promote the the job’s performance in question.
organization as an equal opportunity employer and do
not contain words or images that express an intention References Case law has determined that an employer
to discriminate or suggest a preference for people from who chooses to provide a reference is under a duty of
a particular group. care to provide a true, accurate, and misleading
reference.
Positive action
Under discrimination law, it is permissible to take Restrictions on the Employment of Children and
certain positive action forms to encourage people from Young Persons
certain groups to apply for work. The Equality Act 2010 Employers must ensure that the laws relating to
also permits employers to give preference to a children and young people are complied with when
candidate from an underrepresented or disadvantaged recruiting children and young persons. In law, a "child"
group in circumstances where the candidate in is a person who is not over compulsory school age,
question is at least "as qualified as" other candidates which in most cases means a child under age 16.
who are in the running. The phrase "as qualified as"
refers not only to academic qualifications but rather to Work Experience
all the criteria laid down by the employer for the post in The Education (Work Experience) Act 1973 allows
question such as relevant experience, skills, and employers to take on pupils in their last academic year
general competence of compulsory schooling to give them work experience.
The Health and Safety (Employment Training)
Application forms Regulations 1990 have the effect of giving students on
The information contained in application forms should work experience and trainees on training programs the
be treated as confidential. status of “employees." The provider of the training is,
therefore, regarded as the "employer. “Restrictions on
Shortlisting the Employment of Young Persons Young workers are
When shortlisting occurs, it should be undertaken those who are over the minimum school leaving age
consistently and against the objective criteria set out in but have not yet reached the age of 18. In general,
the job description and person specification young workers have the same employment rights as
. adult workers, e.g., the right not to suffer unlawful
Interviews discrimination in recruitment
When questions are asked at the interview, they should
relate to the job requirements and be presented Young workers are also entitled to more generous rest
objectively. Adjustments for candidates with disabilities periods and rest breaks than adult workers as follows.
Employers should be aware of the duty to make
reasonable adjustments for any candidate with a Daily rest — at least 12 hours' consecutive rest must
disability. Selection tests If used, selection tests should be given in every 24 hours. The rest period may be
be reviewed periodically to ensure their validity and interrupted, however, where the work is split up over
their lack of inherent bias, as they may be biased and the day or is of short duration.
so discriminatory on the grounds of sex, race, or age. Weekly rest — a minimum of 48 hours each week
must be ensured. This may be reduced to 36 hours
Selection were justified by technical or work organization
Selection should be carried out based on the reasons,
candidates' relevant skills, experience, knowledge, Rest breaks — there must be a minimum 30-minute
qualifications, and competencies, measured against rest break during any shift lasting (or expected to last)
the criteria defined in the person specification, and not for more than four and a half hours. This entitlement
cannot be varied except for temporary work, which has data required to put together a job description that will
to be done in unforeseen and exceptional attract the right person to fill in the role. It helps
circumstances. Compensatory rest must be given establish the level of experience, qualifications, skills,
within three weeks and knowledge needed to successfully perform a job.
6 Best Practices to Drive Your Recruitment & Job Analysis Method:
Selection
Interview : With this job analysis method, job analysts
Process Finding and hiring the right talent has never conduct interviews with incumbents to collect
been more difficult. The skills shortage increased job information about their tasks and cope with them.
market competition, and diversity in the expectations of Interviews can be structured and unstructured,
prospective job candidates have highly complexified depending on your corporate culture
the recruitment and selection process for HR managers
Structured interviews follow a systematic approach
Emphasize On Culture where employees are interviewed accurately and
consistently, following a preset format.
Make sure to introduce candidates to your company
culture by developing a strong employer branding Unstructured interviews: unravel without a preset
strategy. This strategy will expose job seekers to structure. The interview process is carried out as a
what your company is about, even before conversation with no specific questions predefined.
submitting their application. Even better, you can
leverage culture as a tool to attract the right sort of Analysis Method: Questionnaires
talent.
It's one of the most widely used job analysis
Keep Track Of Candidates’ methods because it's inexpensive to create and
easy to distribute to numerous individuals faster.
Information Applicant tracking is essential to maintain Questionnaires can have different question forms,
a valuable database of potential candidates that is sure such as open-ended questions, multiple-choice,
to save you time and money in the future. While checklists, or a mix of them.
candidates' skills and experience may not be well
suited to a specific position in the present, they could Questionnaires used for job analysis collect data about
be of use in other areas of your business later on. The all aspects that influence how a job is completed,
task of maintaining up to date records of job applicants including internal and external factors. These are the
can be a challenge without an appropriate HR system. most common areas that questionnaires focus on:

Cloud-based recruitment software is the easiest  Knowledge, skills, experience, and

and most efficient manner to align candidates with qualifications
future positions as they become available. Once a  Duties performed daily
new vacancy is available, you will be able to easily  Duties performed less frequently.
identify potential matches in your talent pool – which  Equipment and materials used for duties
will save you from seeking applications externally  Time spent on different job duties
 Physical and emotional input
Ensure Privacy And Security For Candidates  Level of job satisfaction
 Salary and compensation
When your candidates are applying for a vacancy in
 Work conditions
your company, it's best to ensure that their information
 Additional comments
is kept confidential.
Job Analysis Method: Observation
Leverage Social Media Platforms
The observation method enables job analysts to
While social media's use remains a top concern for HR
observe employees in their daily routines. The
managers, they can help you attract and reach a larger
information collected through observation is extremely
pool of talent. Corporate career boards and online job
useful and reliable since it's via first-hand knowledge.
boards are far from being enough to expose current
Observation is the only job analysis method that
vacancies available in your company.
allows the job analyst or HR professional to directly
Adopt Agile Hiring Methods obtain the data. In contrast, other job analysis methods
collect data indirectly and in an orchestrated
With the diversification of work – think remote workers environment.
or millennial, for example – it’s important to adopt a
flexible recruitment and selection process. An When using this particular method, a job analyst
increasingly mobile workforce is a chance for HR to observes an employee and records what they do and
broaden their talent pool and capture candidates that do not do. This helps job analysts and HR
they would not have had access to in the past. professionals reach a more reliable conclusion.
However, even the observation method comes with
flaws.

Optimize The Recruitment Funnel What is a Competency Model?

Like sales or marketing, HR should keep track of a A competency model is a guideline developed by a
conversion funnel to optimize every step of the Human Resource department that sets out the specific
recruitment and selection process. How many skills, knowledge, and behavioral requirements that
applications do you receive? How many of these enable employees to perform their job successfully. It
applications do turn into interviews? How many people defines what performance success should look like
do you need to interview to fill a vacant position? within the organization for each job. The model is
applied to recruitment practices, talent management,
Lesson 4: Job Analysis and Competency Model training, and performance assessment.
Job Analysis in Human Resource Management 1. Core competencies
(HRM) refers to the process of identifying and
determining the duties, responsibilities, and Core competencies include the organization's baseline
specifications of a given job. It encompasses collecting skills for all employees; these are the basic things that
employees must fulfill. This will vary from company to The activities or behaviors that are not part of a
company, as it depends on each organization's values, worker's formal job description remain important for
philosophy, and goals, but can include basic organizational effectiveness
requirements like communication skills or teamwork.
Most jobs require a basic element of being able to work 1. Extra Effort
with other people to some degree.
2. Volunteering
2. Functional competencies
3. Helping co-workers
Functional competencies are job-specific skills and
4. Following rules
behaviors that are unique for each role. For example,
a restaurant waiter's competency may be the ability to Supporting organizational objectives
effectively handle customer complaints, where a
competency for an accountant may be the ability to Counterproductive Work Behaviors:
analyze a specific type of financial data to prepare
Voluntary behaviors that violate significant
reports. Functional competencies should describe
organizational norms threaten the well-being of an
what behaviors or skills need to be performed for the
organization, its members, or both.
employee to be a top-performer in their position.
 Absenteeism
3. Leadership competencies
 Presenteeism: working while sick can cause
Leadership competencies are often used for production loss
supervisory and management related roles, although  Theft
they can be applied to any job position that requires an  Bullying
employee to lead others. They include leadership skills
Adaptive Performance:
and behaviors like decision-making abilities.
A worker's behavioral reactions to changes in a
Competency models are used for a variety of HR
working system or work role.
practices, including:
 Learning new technologies
Recruitment:
 Dealing with uncertain work situations
Fully developed competency models are often used for  Handling work stress
the development of job postings. When they are well-  Dealing with crises
defined and clear, organizations have a better chance  Solving problems creatively
of finding more closely matched candidates.  Demonstrating interpersonal/cultural/
physical adaptability
Talent/Performance Management:
Multidimensional Model of Job Performance
Defining what success should look like within the
organization boils down to the workforce; a 1. Job-specific Task Proficiency
competency model can define what performance
- The degree to which an individual can perform a
success should look like for each role within an
technical task that makes up the content of the job
organization.
2. Non-job-specific Task Proficiency
Performance Appraisal:
- The degree to which individuals can perform a task
Competency models provide the framework needed
to properly assess employees during a that is not specific to any one job
performance review; both the employee and 3. Written and Oral Communication Task
employer have a clearly defined list of behaviors and Proficiency
skills to work from.
The degree to which an individual can write or speak
Lesson 5: Job Performance independently of the correctness of the subject matter
Job Performance Definition: 4. Demonstrating Effort
Multidimensional construct composed of task, - The degree to which individuals are committed to
contextual, adaptive, and counterproductive work performing all job tasks, to working at a high level of
behaviors that are relevant to accomplishing the goals intensity, and to work under adverse conditions
of an organization.
5. Maintaining Personal Discipline

-Characterizes the extent to which negative behaviors

Task Performance: are avoided
Duties related to the direct production of goods and 6. Facilitating Peer and Team Performance
services and the direct contribution to the
organization's efficient functioning that form part of a The degree to which an individual supports co-workers
job. These duties are part of the worker's formal job helps them with job problems and keeps them working
description. as a team to achieve their goals

 Job-specific tasks 7. Supervision/ Leadership

 Communication
 Organizing Behaviors that are directed at influencing the
 Planning performance of subordinates through interpersonal
 Administration means.

Contextual Performance: 8. Management/ Administration

All other performance behaviors involved in

management that are distinct from supervision.
Effective Performance Measures

1. Relevancy

Criterion relevance: the degree to which a criterion

measure captures behaviors or competencies that
constitute job performance

Criterion deficiency: those job performance

behaviors or competencies that are not measured by
the criterion

Criterion contamination: the degree to which the

criterion measure is influenced by, or measures,
behaviors or competencies that are not part of job
performance

2. Reliability

The criterion measure must meet scientific and

professional standards of reliability.

3. Practicality

The degree to which a criterion measure is available,

plausible, and acceptable to organizational decision-
makers.

Performance Appraisal

Objective: Involves using production, sales, and

personnel data to access individual performance

Quantity: number of items produced/ volume of sales

Quality: number of errors/ number of cancelled

contracts

Trainability: time to reach the standard/ rate of

increase in production

Absenteeism: number of sick days used/ late for work

Tenure: Length of time in job/ voluntary turnover rate

Rate of advancement: number of promotions/

increase in salary

Accidents: Cost of accidents/ day lost to accidents

Subjective: Involves the use of rating scales.