Some of the Legislation That Applies During Recruitment and Selection

Some of the legislation that applies during Recruitment and Selection

The Race Relations Act 1976

This Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person, directly or indirectly based on race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origin. The Act does not cover religion,

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (1986)

This Act covers all non-contractual areas of employment. Contractual discrimination is dealt with in the Equal Pay Act.

This Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex or marital status.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

The Act makes it unlawful to treat a person with a disability less favourably than someone else because of his or her disability. The Act defines disability as: "physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day to day activities."

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

This Act enables some criminal convictions to become 'spent'. This means that after a period of time has passed, the person concerned is deemed 'rehabilitated' and the conviction can be erased from their record and does not have to be declared on application forms etc. The person concerned does not need to answer any questions about it or refer to it at all once 'spent'. The length of time to 'rehabilitate' depends on the conviction and a table of requirements is given to provide guidance. The Act makes it an offence for anyone with access to criminal records to disclose spent convictions.

The Equal Pay Act 1970

This Act was amended in 1983 and complements the Sex Discrimination Act. It establishes the rights of men and women to be paid the same for doing the same, or broadly similar work. It also applies when work is different, but has been given the same value, either by the employer or an external evaluation scheme. The Act applies to full and part-time employment. The Act does not only apply to basic wages and salaries, but also to all matters covered by the contract of employment, i.e. overtime pay, shift allowances, luncheon vouchers, sick pay schemes, holidays and terms of notice.

The Employment Act 1980 (1988)

This Act provides protection for all employees in terms of their rights to be or not to be members of independent trade unions. It is unlawful to use this against a potential applicant at recruitment and selection.