Hiring an Employee UK

When hiring, it is important to understand the issues that could come with this from a legal perspective. Here, we will highlight the key legal issues a business needs to consider when hiring staff and the cost of hiring an employee in the UK.

Contact our solicitors to get tailored employment law advice before you hire staff.

What to consider before hiring an employee

• Make sure all staff involved in the employee hiring process have had equal opportunities training (and they continue to receive it while working for the business).
• Draw up the following documents: 
  • a job description which sets out the title and main purpose of the job, the place of the job holder within the business and the main tasks or responsibilities of the post.
  • a person specification which details the experience, know-how and qualifications, skills and abilities necessary for the job in question. The hiring requirements can be split between those that are “essential” for the job and those that are merely “desirable”.

• Ensure that none of the hiring requirements in either document discriminates against any groups of employees. In particular, consider whether any requirements for specific qualifications - working hours or times, travel, age ranges, or dressing - are necessary for the job in question.
• Consider whether the job needs to be full-time or whether it is open to part-time, home working, flexible working or job sharing. If a business specifies that a job is full-time, it may need to be able to justify its decision when hiring staff.

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Legal issues when posting a job advert

• Decide whether the job you’re hiring for should be advertised internally, externally, or both.
• Consider using specialist publications, websites, and agencies to target different communities, ages and sexes.
• Think carefully when writing the advert. Consider employment law stipulations that protect applicants from discrimination because of certain characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation)

For example, avoid using language that might imply only someone of a certain age would be suitable (for example, “mature”, “experienced” or “young”).

• Ensure any employees absent from work (including women on maternity leave or those on long-term sick leave) are informed of the vacancy to enable them to apply. Failure to do so could amount to discrimination.

How to prepare an application form

• Use a standard application form to enable individual applicants’ answers to be directly compared against the selection criteria more easily and help avoid potential unlawful discrimination claims.
• Draw up a shortlist using the same criteria used in the job description and person specification. Every applicant should be marked against the same criteria to help avoid any potential unlawful discrimination claims.
• If a business is making redundancies even while hiring new staff, it must consider applications for suitable vacancies from employees selected for redundancy ahead of external applicants. Women selected for redundancy while on maternity leave are entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy (where one is available) in priority to other potentially redundant employees.

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Asking pre-employment health questions

• In most cases, a business is prohibited from asking potential recruits questions about their health (for example, businesses should avoid asking questions about an applicant’s sickness absence record).
• However, there are some circumstances where a business is entitled to ask health-related questions. For example, when hiring staff for a job in a warehouse, it is okay to ask the applicant whether they have any health problems that may prevent them from lifting or handling heavy items.

Businesses can also check whether an applicant has any special requirements it needs to take into account when making the arrangements for an interview, such as wheelchair access.

Interviewing and selecting candidates

Consider these key points to keep in mind during the interview process (under the UK’s employment law):

• Think when and where the interview should take place. For example:
  • check whether the interview venue has access for disabled candidates.
  • holding an interview during a religious holiday could discriminate against applicants from that particular religion.
  • candidates with children may require the interview to be conducted at a particular time.

• Ideally, all shortlisted candidates should be asked the same or similar questions during the interview to allow answers to be compared and to avoid the possibility of a discrimination claim.
• Avoid asking questions about a candidate’s personal life unless they are directly relevant to the requirements of the job (for example, it is unacceptable to ask a female candidate whether she plans to have children).
• Keep a paper trail throughout the interview process to demonstrate how the business reached its decision to select the successful candidate. This should include:
  • selection criteria;
  • notes on the shortlisting process;
  • interview questions;
  • notes of panellists’ assessments of the interviewees.

• It is good practice to provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates if it is requested. A failure to do so could indicate that a decision was based on discriminatory grounds.

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How to hire an employee

• Send a written offer to the successful candidate. Consider whether to set a time limit for acceptance and specify that acceptance should be in writing.
• A business can make the offer conditional on a range of criteria, provided they are not discriminatory. For example:
  • providing satisfactory references; or
  • confirmation that the candidate to be hired is free to work in the UK or has an appropriate work permit or immigration approval to work.

• Before making a job offer, ensure the applicant confirms they are not bound by any restrictive covenants from their previous job; otherwise, the business could be sued by their former employer.
• When looking to hire staff, consider that restrictive covenants are usually used in employment contracts to protect an employer's business by restricting the activities of an employee, generally after employment has ended.

Drawing up an employment contract

• Consider whether the contract should be permanent or for a fixed term. If a business decides that a fixed-term contract is appropriate, it may need to justify why it reached that decision.
• Remember that an employee on a fixed-term or part-time contract should not be treated any less favourably than a permanent employee (for example, they should be allowed access to a company bonus scheme or instead receive an equivalent benefit).

Need legal advice preparing an employment contract? Contact us today!

Stipulating probationary periods

• A probationary period can be included in the employment contract. This will enable the business to assess the employee and vice versa. It also gives it the flexibility to dismiss someone using a shorter notice period of at least one week.
• Probationary periods typically last between three to six months and can be extended with the consent of the employee at the end of the term (for example, if the employee was sick and the business was unable to adequately assess their performance, it may want to extend the period).

For employment law advice, please do not hesitate to contact Neil Largan.