Job adverts can go wrong in so many ways for the wide range of firms that depend on recruitment agencies in Northern Ireland. The tone might not be quite right, vital responsibilities may have been missed off… or it may be discriminatory.

The latter’s a potentially massive problem that risks your company falling foul of discrimination law. Here are four of the areas in which your own company’s job adverts could go wrong.

Gender

 Even if you feel that there’s a gender gap in your workplace that needs to be balanced out, you can’t imply any gender bias in your job advert. There are, after all, very few instances of a specific gender being crucial for a particular job – a male actor for a male film or TV role, perhaps, being one of those few.

Race/religion/beliefs

Again, unless one of these factors would make a massive difference to the person’s suitability for the job, it’s best to keep any reference to them firmly off your job advert. Of course, there might be some exceptions here and there – for example, you might be seeking someone for a role in a Christian charity, where it would be a great help for the candidate to already be a Christian.

Age

This can be a difficult one if you feel that someone of a certain age would be best-suited to your office – for instance, a young graduate if you are a ‘hip’ web design studio, or someone in their 40s or 50s if you are seeking a ‘safe pair of hands’.

The fact is, these preferences cannot be suggested in your job advert

Disability

Nor should the need for a candidate to have certain physical abilities be mentioned, again, unless it is imperative for the role. Even a ‘valid driving licence’ need not be referred to if the job will not require the candidate to drive.

These aren’t the only elements that may be of concern when you are trying not to discriminate with your job advert – but nonetheless, they can certainly be among the most problematic.

That’s why it’s also such a good idea for clients of recruitment agencies in Northern Ireland to run their job adverts past a dedicated HR or legal team to check that they pass muster, before putting them out into the world.