Over 70% of employers now check a candidate’s social media accounts before making a hiring decision[1]. While it may seem like a useful tool in assessing a candidate’s suitability for your organisation experts have warned it can leave you legally vulnerable.
‘Looking at a candidate’s social media will usually reveal information that’s not usually available to you as a recruiter’ explains Rolf Bezemer, SVP and General Manager EMEA at First Advantage, a leading background screening organisation.
‘This includes many protected characteristics under the Equalities Act including race, religion, sexual orientation or pregnancy’
‘Once you’re aware of these characteristics you can’t un-see them, so it becomes difficult to argue that you haven’t taken them into account during your recruitment process.’
‘You could be taken to an employment tribunal hearing for not offering someone a job or interview if it could be argued to be linked to a protected characteristic[2]’
First Advantage’s Social Media Screening helps eliminates this risk by using a complex algorithm to only show you posts relevant to your screening needs including: drugs, violence and bigotry.
For more information on backgrounding checking solutions contact EMEA@fadv.com
[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-employers-have-found-content-on-social-media-that-caused-them-not-to-hire-a-candidate-according-to-recent-careerbuilder-survey-300694437.html
[2] http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3377
