Action 4.3A Ensure pre-employment checks align with job specifications and clearly outline the purpose of all checks to the candidate.

Guidance

Any pre-employment checks conducted should directly align with job specifications in order to reduce the possibility of unintended discrimination in your process.

Candidates should be informed that pre-employments checks are required as part of any job offer made and should be informed how they align with the job specification and what their purpose is. Depending on the nature of the role, such checks may include verification of qualifications, driving license checks, pre-employment medicals, garda vetting, credit checks. It’s useful to reflect on why you are requesting each check and interrogate whether or not it is in fact directly relevant to the role, removing unnecessary checks accordingly.

Examples of where a misalignment of job specification and pre-employment checks increase the risk of discrimination include:

• Driving license checks, where ability to drive is not a core part of the job (see Action 4.1B) and where other modes of transport or alternative approaches could enable the individual to perform the role. This can disadvantage a range of individuals who may be unable to drive for a variety of reasons including disability.
• Garda vetting or other forms of vetting, where the role does not consist of having access to or contact with children or vulnerable adults. This can for example disadvantage individuals with a past criminal record in an area unrelated to the post.
• Pre-employment medicals, where the health and fitness of the individual is not directly related to the position. This is illegal and can disadvantage a range of disabled people and individuals who have experienced significant illnesses.

By minimising checks to those that are directly relevant to the role, and outlining these requirements and their purposes, you demonstrate your commitment to a fair and inclusive hiring process, ensuring that all candidates are fully informed and prepared.

It’s useful to embed this alignment between checks and role into your formal recruitment and onboarding procedures as appropriate to the size and scope of your organisation, to ensure that they happen as standard and become a part of your onboarding culture.

The pre-employment phase is also a useful opportunity to invite candidates to share if they have a disability which may require supports in the workplace, and to offer a needs assessment in advance of their start date so that appropriate supports can be determined and put in place for their arrival (see Action 5.3A).