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Want to stay on the right side of the law? We support businesses and public authorities and help them to promote good practice.
 
 

Recruitment & letting staff go

What you need to know

How we can help

Publications

 

How do I recruit new staff?


When hiring staff it is important to demonstrate that you are an equal opportunities employer.  You can do this by:

Creating recruitment & selection procedures

You must have a systematic, fair and objective way to recruit and select employees. Tribunals attach significant weight to evidence which demonstrates that employers properly followed systematic and objective procedures. Having these in place will increase the likelihood that the best and most suitable person will be appointed, and will help your case if you are taken to Tribunal. Develop a written policy & procedure that meets your business needs and addresses the issues listed below.

Recommended downloads:
 

 

Training staff in recruitment & selection

Provide appropriate training to all managers and any other persons who will have a role in implementing the recruitment and selection policy. This will ensure they understand:

 

  • their responsibilities under the employer’s equal opportunities and recruitment and selection policies
  • their and the employer’s responsibilities under current equality legislation
  • the guidance set out in the equality codes of practice and other guidance publications issued by the Equality Commission.
 

Managing vacancies

When a vacancy arises, consideration should be given to whether the vacancy should be filled by redeployment of staff:

 

  • as a reasonable adjustment accommodating the needs of a disabled member of staff
  • to reduce a surplus of staff, including avoidance of potential redundancies
  • as a result of a request for flexible working

 

Situations that employers have also considered include:

 

  • transfer of staff who have received a formal written warning as a result of unsatisfactory performance
  • transfers necessary as a result of disciplinary measures
  • situations involving the personal security of staff
  • transfers necessary as a result of harassment allegations and investigations
 
 

The following factors are also important and should be carefully considered:

 

 

Recruiting People With Disabilities

We have produced guidance on recruiting people with disabilities. It includes useful information about the reasonable adjustment duty, good practice and taking positive action.
 


How do I deal with redundancy situations?

As an employer you should have a policy and procedure in place for redundancy situations. These policies and procedures must be fairly and consistently applied to all employees regardless of:

 

  • sex
  • pregnancy or maternity
  • gender reassignment
  • married or civil partnership
  • religious or similar philosophical belief
  • political opinion
  • race
  • sexual orientation
  • disability
  • age


To do otherwise, on any of these grounds, is likely to amount to an act of unlawful discrimination.

Read our advice note for employers - Redundancy and the Coronavirus
 

 

Can I make a disabled employee redundant?

If you are considering dismissing a disabled employee, whether under a disciplinary, absence management or redundancy procedure, you should always consider whether a reasonable adjustment can be made either to the relevant procedure itself, or to other aspects of the workplace or to working arrangements. A failure to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments could amount to an act of disability discrimination.

The Disability Code of Practice (pdf), particularly chapters 5 and 8, provides guidance about how the reasonable adjustment duty applies.
 

What about those on pregnancy-related absence and maternity leave?

If you are considering dismissing a female employee, whether under a disciplinary, absence management or redundancy procedure, the employer must avoid committing acts of pregnancy or maternity leave discrimination.

 

You have a statutory duty in relation to employees who are taking maternity leave. If you are considering making an employee on maternity leave redundant, and it is not practicable by reason of redundancy for you to continue to employ them under their existing contract, then you must offer them any suitable alternative vacant post, if one exists.

 

Is length-of-service a factor when making redundancies?

You should be aware that using length-of-service as a selection criterion may place younger employees at a substantial disadvantage compared to older ones, and this may therefore be age discrimination. If this is likely to occur then the criterion should be objectively justified, or otherwise abandoned.

 

This type of selection criterion may also have a discriminatory impact where you have been using lawful affirmative or positive action measures to successfully increase the level of representation in your workforce of groups who have been historically underrepresented. Where such a criterion is likely to have a disproportionate impact of this kind, then again it should be objectively justified, or should otherwise be abandoned.

 

Can I require staff to retire at 65?

No, since April 2011, you are no longer permitted to routinely require employees to retire at the age of 65. If you do, an employee may be able to complain about age discrimination unless you follow certain procedures and can justify the decision to terminate their employment at 65.

 

How should I deal with retiring my employees?

Employers might choose to deal with retirement in a number of ways:

 

  • Allow employees to work beyond the age of 65 until they choose to resign voluntarily or you are compelled to dismiss them on grounds of incapacity, misconduct, or redundancy (i.e., grounds that justify the dismissal of an employee regardless of age). Many employers see the benefit of keeping on experienced and loyal employees while they remain fit to do the job.
  • Decide on a compulsory retirement age for all employees, or for a class of employees. You need to objectively justify any and all compulsory retirement ages.
  • If you decide to have a compulsory retirement age, you have to be able to show that there is a very good reason why your employees, or a group of employees, cannot continue to work beyond that age. Ask yourself whether you have good evidence to support this reason and consider whether there is an alternative (non-discriminatory) way of achieving the same result. A balance must be drawn between the business needs which might compel you to set a compulsory retirement age, and the discriminatory impact this will have on the employees affected by it.

 


Contact us if you require further advice on age discrimination and retirement issues.

 

How do I retire staff in a fair, non discriminatory way?

When retiring someone you must follow the correct statutory dismissal procedure as outlined in the Labour Relations Agency´s Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures.


If the proper procedure is not followed, this automatically constitutes unfair dismissal even if you are able to objectively justify the retirement age you have set.
 

 
 

How we can help

We believe that helping you promote and encourage good equal opportunities practice is as important as enforcing the equality law. Every year, the Commission helps hundreds of businesses and organisations comply with equality laws.

We recognise that employers' needs differ across sectors and businesses – so we tailor our services to meet employers’ varying needs.

Training

We provide high quality training seminars and information sessions to employers on a wide range of equality issues.

These events provide advice and guidance on employers’ duties under current equality laws and on introducing best practice. We recommend that employers carefully consider their needs and choose the seminars and sessions which are of most benefit to them.

 

    Training sessions include:


   •  Introduction to understanding equality
   •  Equality training for line managers
   •  Recruiting fairly
   •  Harassment at work
   •  Pregnancy, maternity and flexible working
   •  Mental ill-health at work
   •  Promoting disability in the workplace 
   •  Reasonable steps defence
   •  How to complete an Article 55 Review
   •  Monitoring form workshops

 

 

 


 

 

 











We are flexible in terms of themes covered and can tailor courses to suit employers’ business needs. Further details are available on our employer training page or email training@equalityni.org - Tel: 02890 500600

 

In-house training

On occasion, the Commission can provide in-house training for organisations.  Where we agree to such a request, we will normally deliver one session to key staff within the organisation and assist them to disseminate the training internally. For in-house training requests email training@equalityni.org or Tel: 028 90 500600.
 

Speakers for your event

If you are organising an equality related event, our staff can share their expertise to highlight relevant issues in equality law that relate to your business priorities. For further information, contact Paul Oakes poakes@equalityni.org  Tel: 028 90 500600.
 

Employer news ezine

To receive updates on our training seminars, events and employer equality networks sign up to receive our Employer & Service Providers' Newsletter using the subscribe button at the bottom of the page.

 
 

 
This is a selection of publications that are most relevant to recruitment and selection:
 

Equality Grounds (eg. age, disability, race,)

 

Model policies and procedures

 

Employability toolkit

 
 

Useful website - nibusinessinfo.co.uk
 

If you are looking for a particular publication, you can also search our publications database

Please contact our Advice and Compliance team if you need further advice - 02890 890888.
 
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