Scottish Employer Recruitment Law Advice | Thorntons Employment Law

One of the most important aspects of a good employment relationship is hiring the right person for the job in the first place. So it is essential, as an employer to be asking the right questions of applicants to establish if they are a good fit for your business. However, it is also important to ensure that you do not fall foul of the various protections job applicants have under employment laws.

Dealing with recruitment

There are various employment law issues you and your managers should be aware of when recruiting new staff:

Recruitment law

Job applicants have various protections under employment law. For example, job applicants are protected from discrimination and, as an employer, you must ensure that all aspects of your recruitment process – from the job advert to the pre-employment checks you carry out – comply with the Equality Act 2010. You must not discriminate against any applicants on the grounds of sex, age, disability, race, religion, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity or sexual orientation. You must also prevent illegal working by ensuring all employees have the right to the work in the UK.

Further, you must ensure compliance with any legislation specifically relevant to your business. For example, carrying out checks under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 where your employees will be working with children and/or vulnerable adults. A failure to follow these obligations can lead to criminal penalties being imposed on your business.

Recruitment policy and training

A recruitment policy and equality and diversity training are useful tools to assist your managers to carry out recruitment in a consistent and fair way.

How can Thorntons help?

At Thorntons, our employment lawyers can assist you to manage your relationship with your employees from recruitment through to termination (for whatever reason). We can advise you on all aspects of the recruitment process from assisting you to draft a non-discriminatory job advert under employment legislation and managing the interview process fairly to advising on how to manage unfavourable references or pre-employment checks.

In most employment situations taking legal advice early on can often stop the situation from escalating and will save you time and money later. With our proactive and commercial advice, our Employment Law Solicitors can help find the right solution for you over recruitment issues. Give one of our team a call on 03330 430 350 , or complete our online enquiry form and we will contact you.