Discrimination laws 'must be familiar to recruiters'

Bosses must ensure they are aware if the legislation surrounding discrimination when hiring staff, one expert has warned.

Victoria Winkler, an adviser for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said it is important that employers use the large amounts of guidance on the subject.

In an interview situation bosses should be confident about what questions they can and cannot ask to job candidates, Ms Winkler stated.

Above all, it is incredibly important that employers are not caught breaking law, but there are also other benefits to following the guidelines.

In terms of recruiting and getting access to the most diverse people within the workforce - which is shown to make a positive impact on the business - then it really is important that they're familiar with the legislation, she said.

Which? recently advised jobseekers that employers cannot ask them about marital status, political allegiance or religious views.

Keep your focus on the job itself, is the advice of ClickAJob chief executive Yngve Traberg.

That means satisfying three things: capability, attitude and fit, none of which have anything to do with social background, he says.

Stick to looking at merit and the discrimination issues just fall away.