News

November 20, 2009

Employers warned not to use social networking sites to vet recruits

Employers who use social networking sites to vet new recruits could be risking costly discrimination claims, the Law Society has warned.

Looking at sites such as MySpace or Facebook to glean details about interview candidates or new recruits is potentially discriminatory, the organisation said, as it could affect the employer's decision unfairly whether or not to take that person on.

"For example, it's possible to obtain information about a person's sexual orientation or religious beliefs that can impact, or is perceived to impact, on the decision made to recruit or not recruit that person ? this can lead to discrimination claims," said the Law Society's Employment Law Committee chair, John Morris.

Under the Employment Practices Data Protection Code, an employer is advised to only use vetting where there are specific risks involved, such as staff working with children or vulnerable people.

However, law firm Martin Searle Solicitors' director of employment, Fiona Martin, said that if a person chose to publish information about themselves online, they were effectively consenting to the details being in the public domain.

"Most employers are much more interested to know things like the real reason why someone is leaving their job and sites like Facebook may reveal a truer account than the one given at interview, or show that a CV may not be entirely factually correct," said Martin.

"The current practice of previous employers only providing basic references is not very helpful for potential employers, so it's not surprising that many of them are looking for additional information to verify an interviewee's account," she added.

Social media expert Lucy Whittington, director at Inspired Business Marketing, said it was down to individuals to publish online only what they were happy for others to see, and that certain sites could be a useful source of information for employers.

"Rather than using Twitter or Facebook, employers should more use business-orientated sites like LinkedIn if they are trying to find out more about somebody's professional abilities," she said.

"LinkedIn is considered to be a more work-oriented networking site and information shared there can be used in addition to somebody's CV," added Whittington. "References and recommendations are also often included which could indicate a person's experience or previous working relationships."

But she warned that accuracy of information was not always guaranteed. "There are no guidelines or checking procedures that there would be, for example, with a submitted CV or application form for a job," said Whittington.