Potential areas of discrimination

The DDA makes discrimination unlawful at all stages of the recruitment process. There are four major areas that have potential for discrimination, detailed below.

Advertising

It is unlawful for an advertiser to discriminate on the basis of disability. All advertisements should be carefully checked to ensure against possible discrimination.

Example: Where a phone number is the only contact given for job information, applicants are, in effect, being required to communicate by phone. This may discriminate against some job seekers with a disability, particularly deaf people.

Application Forms

Another area that needs to be checked for inadvertent discrimination is application forms.

Example: A potential candidate who has difficulty writing would be unfairly discriminated against if application documents required the use of well-developed writing skills that were not necessary for the job.

Interviewing

For information on avoiding discrimination during the interviewing process, consult our Interviewing page.

Medical Assessments

A medical assessment that indicates a jobseeker may not be able to perform a job might not be sufficient to protect a company from a claim of discrimination. A medical practitioner making such an assessment will not necessarily have all of the information regarding the inherent requirements of a particular job or what adjustments may be reasonable under the circumstances.