It is very important that all of these changes are handled correctly, to avoid any upset. Not only for the member of staff with the disability, but to McDonald’s, who do not want to be accused of Discriminating against people with disabilities. Rehabilitation of an offender Because of the Rehabilitation on offenders Act some Criminal offences can be over looked after a certain period of time. This is called a “rehabilitation period”. A rehabilitation period is a set length of time from the date of conviction. With exceptions after this period the ex offender does not have to mention the conviction when applying for any job. In an applicant has a spent conviction they do not have to declare it on the application form as long as the position is exempt under the Act. A spent conviction is not considered solid grounds for not excepting the application. However if the applicant does not mention any unspent convictions then their application may not be accepted on the grounds of deceit. Due to the sensitive nature of employment there are some exceptions:

Any post providing accommodation., care, leisure and recreational facilities, schooling, social services, supervision or training to people aged under 18e.g. Teachers, school caretakers, youth and social workers, child minders. – Employment providing social services to elderly people, mentally or physically disabled people, alcohol or drug mis users or the chronically sick. – Appointment to any offices or employment involving the administration of justice, including police officers, probations officers, traffic wardens. – Appointment to jobs where national security may be at risk, e.g. certain post in civil service, defence contractors. How will this affect the recruitment and selection process?

Before a business can offer the job to an applicant they must consider which exempt category of exemption, if any, they fall into. If they do fall into a certain category then this will have to be stated on the job advertisement. They will also have to make sure that application forms have a section which request information on any previous convictions. Normally on an application form you would find that they have a section that declares if the post being applied for is exempt from the legislation. This information must be made very clear to all applicants. Sex Discrimination Act The Sex Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against anybody on grounds of his or her gender or marital status.

Discrimination can be direct or indirect. Direct is where a job could be referred to as a “salesman” instead of a “sales assistant” or it could be indirect such as an employee who can lift 25kg. This could exclude some woman from applying for the job. There are only a few instances where a job can be advertised to a certain sex. This could be due to the nature of the job, for example a housemaster for the care of young men, or a housemistress to care for young women.

The entire recruitment selection process is affected by this legislation. While completing the job description and person specification, a business must make sure that it does not contain any sexist language. They must also make sure that the application form does not ask any leading questions which could consequently discriminate against men or women. During the selection stage, gender must not influence which candidates are selected to attend the interview. The shortlist must be based on the applicant’s ability and suitability for the role. During the interview all members of the interview team must ensure all candidates are asked all the same questions and they do not allow bias into the selection process.

Race Relations Act Racism is a continued problem. The Race relations Act states that is illegal to discriminate against some one due to their race. The act is enforced to give employees advice on how to ensure they are not accidentally discriminating against a different ethnic culture in their recruitment and selection process. How does this affect the recruitment and selection process?

When writing the Job description and person specification they must make sure that is does not prevent people of ethnic background from applying. The application form must be designed in a way that would encourage applicant from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. During the interview process the interview team must make sure that they do not directly or indirectly discriminate against people with different ethnic backgrounds.