The former bus driver and union representative could not move his arms or legs when applying for the job of mobile surveillance officer with the UK’s intelligence service. Following MI5’s rejection of his application, he argued that they should at least have interviewed him to discuss how to adapt the job to his requirements.

A London employment tribunal has thrown the case out but the applicant is appealing against their ruling. This will incur additional legal costs for the intelligence service.

Avoiding discrimination during the recruitment process is not only a legal requirement; it also gives the best chance of hiring the best candidate for the job.

Several employers we spoke to were unaware that someone who is not an employee may be able to take them to an employment tribunal, if they believe the reason they weren’t selected was as a result of discriminatory practices. There are reports of unscrupulous candidates searching web based job sites and newspaper recruitment pages for discriminatorily worded job adverts. They then submit their CV and if ignored or rejected they threaten to take the company to a tribunal.

With the legal fees of defending a tribunal case costing up to and often exceeding £20,000, several companies have been forced to make a commercial decision and settle such claims rather than face such costs; which are not recoverable even if the company wins the case.

Countyrecruit.com in conjunction with employment law specialists Peninsula Business Services Ltd are offering to help businesses with wording of job adverts and any other employment issues you may have. Simply email david.langley@peninsula-uk.com to discuss this in more detail and to arrange a free consultation. For more hints on job advertising go to http://www.countyrecruit.com/masterclass.html