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By law employers must not discriminate on grounds of race, sex, marriage, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation and, since 2006, on the grounds of age. This applies to all stages of the recruitment process and to all potential candidates. There are some limited exceptions for religious organisations. Remember, too, that age discrimination laws apply equally to young and old.

It is essential to show that you are treating everyone equally in the recruitment process - that includes inadvertant discrimination. For example, advertising for experienced staff might discriminate against younger applicants - an ad for competent or qualified staff would be unlikley to attract a discrimination claim. 

It is also unlawful under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) for an employer to treat a disabled person less favourably due to their disability, when applying for or during employment, without a justifiable reason. Since 2004, direct discrimination between a disabled person and a non-disabled person in truly comparable circumstances is also unlawful. Employers are further required to make a reasonable adjustment to working conditions or the workplace where that would help to accommodate a particular disabled person.

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