Question of ethics

Q Am I allowed to ask a job applicant about their race or nationality?

A Yes. For instance, you may ask them for monitoring purposes. You should always have a written policy for the recruitment of staff and always record the reasons why you have recruited or rejected an applicant. Provided you can show that you did not recruit or fail to recruit on racial grounds, you should be able to defend an allegation that you did so.





Q What do I do if I suspect someone is not eligible to work in this country? Can I turn them down?


A You should always ascertain whether someone is eligible to work in this country and where necessary you should take steps to verify their answer. If they are not eligible to work here, your firm may be liable to prosecution. You would be unlikely to be acting unlawfully if you declined to employ them for that reason.





Q Can I appoint staff who are younger in preference to older applicants, even where the older applicants are better qualified?


A While there is no legislation as yet that prevents you from discriminating on grounds of age, there will be by October 2006, and it is likely to contain restrictions on an employer's right to select employees on the basis of age. In general, however, you would be well advised not to discriminate on age grounds even though the law has not yet come into force. The age positive team at the Department of Work and Pensions has produced guidance dealing with how to avoid age discrimination and the benefits of doing so, which you can obtain from the Web site at www.agepositive.gov.uk.