Our latest research explores the key issues arising when carrying out background checks on potential recruits - for example, how best to obtain references and how employers deal with references or criminal records checks that reveal adverse information   More...
10 May 2013 12:32

Construction firms that engaged in the systematic blacklisting of workers are continuing to avoid full responsibility for their actions, according to the Government's Scottish Affairs Committee. The committee has published an interim report on black  More...
16 April 2013 15:14

News that 17-year-old Paris Brown has resigned from her job as the UK's first youth police and crime commissioner , in the wake of a media storm about comments she made on Twitter when she was just 14, raises important questions about recruitment p  More...
12 April 2013 12:04

Well intentioned though it undoubtedly was, the 2006 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act spread its net very wide, so its replacement by a more focused vetting and barring scheme is no great surprise, says John Charlton. Employers with a duty to car  More...
10 September 2012 15:35

With youth unemployment soaring, the cost of attending university set to rocket and employers' recruitment budgets hit by the recession, young people could be forgiven for thinking that getting a decent job will be impossible in the coming years. Ev  More...
02 March 2011 16:58

An online search for "workplace stress" returns an indigestible 1.5 million results, so whether you are suffering from it or managing it, there is an almost inexhaustible array of resources at your disposal.  But stress is just one area o  More...
01 March 2011 10:35

Employers can no longer ask applicants pre-employment health questions. Anne Pritam and Beth Hale explain. The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010. While it is largely a consolidation of existing law, it does include some signif  More...
14 February 2011 00:01

With the Government keen to cut welfare spending, could this be the time for OH to get involved with its new Work Programme? Nic Paton reports. Even before the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review last month, we knew that the next few years w  More...
14 February 2011 00:01

Three quarters of employers haven't hired from disadvantaged groups, such as young people without qualifications, ex-offenders or older workers, in the last three years. This is according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Deve  More...
22 December 2010 13:28

I have vacancies for positions in my warehouse and am currently recruiting. I normally ask candidates about their health prior to making a decision on whether or not to take them on - can I still do this under the Equality Act 2010? One of the issues  More...
20 October 2010 09:17

Dr Mark Simpson summarises the main areas that employers must consider to understand the implications of the Equality Act. The Equality Act comes into force on 1 October 2010. It is designed to help simplify previous legislation and to deliver a more  More...
29 September 2010 15:19

The Government has risked creating "widespread confusion" among employers by issuing guidance on the new Equality Act just over a week before it is implemented, legal experts have warned. The long awaited Equality Act will come into force on 1 Octo  More...
24 September 2010 16:28

Most of the Equality Act 2010  came into force on 1 October 2010 and employers need to make sure they comply with the  changes to legislation. Warning: This page is no longer updated. It has been   More...
22 September 2010 15:19

My company is gearing up for a round of recruitment. I realise people often exaggerate their employment history and experience, and am keen to ensure the candidates satisfy key requirements for the roles. How can we find out more about candidates before  More...
15 September 2010 14:20

One of the most talked about changes to be introduced by the Equality Act 2010, which was not in the original draft, but was introduced following pressure during consultation, is the ban on the use of pre-employment health questionnaires exce  More...
15 September 2010 12:21

A new law banning companies from using social networking sites like Facebook to vet potential new employees is being mulled over by the German Government, reigniting the debate on whether or not employers should snoop on employees' private lives. Th  More...
31 August 2010 00:01

Universal pre-employment health screening (PEHS) of all NHS staff is outdated and a waste of occupational health's time and resources, a hard-hitting report suggested. The NHS Plus-commissioned research by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine  More...
28 July 2010 17:12

The NHS may welcome the demise of pre-employment health screening, but the OH facility must still assess employees' needs. Nic Paton reports. It's time-consuming, costs money that could probably be better spent elsewhere and has long been recognised  More...
28 July 2010 17:12

The myth of so-called "postcode discrimination" in employment has been busted after government research found no direct evidence of it occuring. Anecdotal reports and previous research has suggested employers could be using applicants' addresses as a  More...
20 July 2010 12:46

Further information Four things you need to know about disability discrimination under the Equality Act Employers are being urged to withdraw pre-employment health questionnaires ahead of the introduction of the Equality A  More...
19 July 2010 09:58