How to recruit new people without reproducing systemic inequality

At People Support Co-op we’re regularly asked for advice on recruitment. We thought we’d take a different approach to this guide and share our answers to some of these questions with you. We offer practical ideas to help you create an equitable recruitment process that actively challenges the systemic inequalities that so often occur in recruitment.

Section 1:

A brief history of recruitment legislation

And a critical look at ‘objectivity’

The Equality Act 2010 offers important protections for individuals by making it unlawful to reject a candidate based on a protected characteristic such as age or race. But it doesn’t address the structural conditions that produce and sustain inequality, especially when those conditions are reinforced through seemingly neutral practices like ‘objective’ and ‘merit-based’ recruitment. We discuss how what is presented as ‘objective’ is frequently shaped by dominant power structures.

Section 2:

Planning recruitment

What should we think about before deciding to recruit?

From budgets and affordability to induction and support systems, we highlight the main considerations an organisation needs to address before making a decision to recruit someone.

Section 3:

Employing our first staff member

What do we need to do to become an employer?

There are a number of hoops to jump through to become an employer. We cover the basics including HMRC, pensions auto enrollment, employer liability insurance, legally-required policies and the employment contract itself.

Section 4:

Recruitment forms & adverts

What should we include in our recruitment pack?

In this section we offer our suggestions to help make sure your recruitment materials are designed to actively encourage people from a wide range of backgrounds to apply. We cover role descriptions, person specs, application forms and where to advertise. 

Section 5:

Application process

What should be included in the application form and do we need an equal opportunities monitoring form?

What you need to know about  application forms, equal opportunities monitoring and guaranteed interview schemes for disabled candidates. We also cover occupational requirements and advertising for someone with a specific protected characteristic.

Section 6:

Selection process

What should we think about when shortlisting applications, preparing for interviews & making the decision on who to hire?

What you need to know about shortlisting, designing a fair and equitable interview and/or task-based process, making the all important decision on who to hire and feeding back to unsuccessful applicants. 

Section 7:

Making a job offer

What do we need to do to make an offer?

Once you’ve decided who to offer the job to, you’ll need to determine which pre-employment checks apply. This section covers offer letters and the various pre-employment checks employers may need to carry out. We also discuss the inherent unfairness of the right-to-work check system and how it contributes to enforcing the hostile environment of the immigration system.  We also cover what happens if you need to withdraw a job offer.

Section 8:

Starting the role

What do we need to do before the person starts?

From adding the new person to payroll, to taking them through a supportive induction process, to making sure you offer reasonable adjustments to anyone whose disability or long term health condition has an impact on their role.

Section 9:

Data protection

What do we need to know about data protection & recruitment?

Finally, we cover the basics for data protection in the recruitment process, including job applicant privacy notices, how long you should keep recruitment data for, and how to handle a Subject Access Request.