Recruiting employees
Job descriptions, adverts and interviews
Everything you need to know about recruitment.
Job description and person specification
It’s useful to draft a job description and person specification for a role before recruiting, so you’re clear about the tasks and skills required. There isn’t a set format for these documents, but a job description usually details the list of tasks required and the person specification sets out the required skills and experience needed. The job description should always include ‘such tasks as may reasonably be required by the employer’. This means that small changes can be made to duties without causing a problem.
This template will help with writing job descriptions.
The advertisement
It’s not a legal requirement to advertise externally for a job, but it’s good practice, especially for equal opportunities. An advertisement normally includes the job title, key skills needed, and a starting salary or salary range. Don’t use language that’s discriminatory, including language that could be indirectly discriminatory. For further guidance on this, check out our Inclusive language webpage.
The interview
The candidates should be asked the same questions, although there will always be certain questions that are specific, coming from their CV or application form). At interview, questions shouldn’t be asked that are discriminatory and candidates shouldn’t be asked questions about their health, unless it’s necessary to make reasonable adjustments (take a look our Discrimination page for more information), or unless it relates to a specific requirement of the job.
For example, it would be okay to ask them if there were any health problems that would prevent them from driving, if driving is an inherent part of the job. This is only okay if the requirement to drive wasn’t something that could be reasonably adjusted.
