University Course 3: Legal Requirements in Recruitment and Selection

This report provides an overview of the legal requirements associated with recruitment and selection processes, with a specific focus on the Equality Act 2010. The report outlines the key provisions of the Act, emphasizing its role in preventing discrimination based on various protected characteristics in the employment context. Furthermore, the report assesses different methods of recruitment and selection, with a detailed analysis of interviews as a selection method. It examines the strengths of interviews, such as flexibility and the ability to assess non-verbal cues, while also addressing their weaknesses, including potential biases and time constraints. References from CIPD and other sources are used to support the analysis. This report is designed to provide insights into the critical aspects of recruitment and selection, especially the importance of adhering to legal requirements and selecting appropriate methods.

Running head: COURSE 3
COURSE 3
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

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2.5. The Equality Act, 2010, is considered to be an Act of the UK Parliament. The
fundamental purpose of this Act is to combine, update and supplement many previous Acts and
Regulations through which the basis of the anti-discrimination law is formed in the US. The
primary aim of this Act is to protect the individuals from discrimination both in the broader
society and workplace. All previous anti-discrimination laws are replaced with this single Act,
and it is very easy to understand (Van den Brink 2010).
As there is no particular Act present in order to control the recruitment and selection
procedure in the UK, therefore there are numerous Acts present in order to deal with the
employment relationship which also influences the pre-employment issues. The Equality Act,
2010 is a significant instance in this regard having a great importance in the recruitment field.
This act prohibits discrimination on the ground of race, sex, caste, creed, religion, age, colour,
disability and sexual orientation in the field of employment. As per the provisions of the above-
mentioned Act, it is illegitimate for an employer to ask questions regarding the health condition
of an individual except in certain situations. It is also unlawful for an employer to ask a lady
regarding her plan for a baby. In the procedure of recruitment, this Act prohibits an employer to
discriminate against a disabled individual in the preparations made for determining who should
be selected for a position (CIPD, 2020).
2.6 In order to recruit an employee, several methods are followed by the employer among
which interview is considered to be the most important method. A job interview is considered to
be a conversation which takes place between an applicant of job and a representative of an
employer in order to assess that whether the applicant should be appointed for a particular
position or not. According to many organizations, interview is the most popular and effective
method to employ a person. According to some HR professionals as interview is a vital step of

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selection process, therefore it must be taken effectively. It helps the employer to get information
about the skills, experiences and behaviour of the job applicant and also helps to measure the
employer whether the applicant is fit for the job or not (Tansey 2007).
 Strengths: For discussing the strengths of job interviews, it can be said that it gives
flexibility to the interviewers, and he/she can judge the non-verbal conduct as well as the
spontaneity of the applicant.
 Weaknesses: To a certain extent, the method of interview have some weaknesses too.
The first and foremost weakness of this method is that it is a time-consuming and costly
method. Whereas the Equality Act, 2010 aims to prohibit discrimination from the
employment field, but this method creates biasness.

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Reference
CIPD. (2020). Recruitment & Selection Q&As | CIPD. [online] Available at:
https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/emp-law/recruitment/questions [Accessed 1
Mar. 2020].
Tansey, O., 2007. Process tracing and elite interviewing: a case for non-probability
sampling. PS: Political Science & Politics, 40(4), pp.765-772.
Van den Brink, M., 2010. Behind the scenes of science: Gender practices in the recruitment and
selection of professors in the Netherlands. Amsterdam University Press.