Enterprise advise businesses to review their recruitment processes

As employers know only too well finding the right person for the job is vital to the smooth running of their business.  The new Age Regulations (Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006) due to come into force on 1 October 2006 will cover people of all ages and apply to both employment and vocational training.  Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) is warning businesses that they should review their recruitment processes in order to ensure that, during the recruitment process, they are not discriminating against potential employees on the grounds of age.

Joyce Duncan, director of operations, of Enterprise comments, “For the entrepreneur whose business is growing the obvious step is to recruit personnel in order to respond to the growing demands of the business.  It can be tempting for employers to use the words ‘young’ or ‘mature’ when advertising for new employees however with the new Age Regulations set to be effective from 1 October 2006 employers need to make sure that their recruitment process does not discriminate on the grounds of age.”

“Employers and potential employers should remember that age does not necessarily help or hinder a person in completing their tasks.”  Joyce continues, “Someone’s age does not mean that they will necessarily have inherent capability commensurate with their age.  For example just because a younger candidate has grown up during the current age of technology this does not mean that they are going to be a computer expert.  Also the people management skills required for some roles are not always to be found in older candidates.  Having a truly open approach to recruitment will ensure that businesses have the pick of the candidates and really can find the best person for the job.”

It is important that employers recognise that they do not just need to review their recruitment adverts to ensure that they do not discriminate on the grounds of age but that they also need to look at their entire recruitment process so that they can be sure that they are not discriminating on the grounds of age.  Joyce has this advice:

• Groundwork

It goes without saying that anyone looking to recruit personnel wants to employ the right person for the job; according to Joyce this is easier to achieve if they have drawn up a job specification which details what the job is, including main tasks and responsibilities. 

“The job specification can and should be used to compile a job description.  This should contain a greater level of detail regarding what the role entails.  These documents, used in conjunction, can facilitate the creation of a person specification; this document should detail what the person fulfilling the role should have and is likely to cover qualifications, experience, skills and personal qualities.”

• Adverts

Joyce comments, “Job adverts should not use any phrasing which could be deemed to be discriminatory on the grounds of age, for example an advert which specifies that candidates must be young or between certain ages would be classed as discriminatory.”

For some employers, such as pub owners, it may be necessary to comply with additional legislation over and above the age regulations however for the majority of employers this is not the case. 

• Application Forms

Joyce adds, “Another aspect of the recruitment process for businesses to consider is the application form.  Requesting that all applicants complete a standard application form can simplify the process of sorting through applicants; it also helps to ensure that businesses receive the same information from each candidate.  Another way of making sure that candidates are not discriminated against on the grounds of age is to design the application form in such a way that unnecessary personal details are not seen by the person/people who review the forms.”

Enterprise delivers business support and advice through the Business Gateway service which is supported by Scottish Enterprise.  Telephone 01224 289725 for any aspect of business advice or visit www.enetrust.com.

Ends

Picture Caption:  Joyce Duncan, director of operations, of Enterprise says that having a truly open approach to recruitment will ensure that businesses have the pick of the candidates and really can find the best person for the job

For further information contact:
Lyndsay Brackenbury
Tricker PR
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