Many companies are upping their corporate use of social media for a plethora of sales and marketing purposes. So, too, are their human resources representatives turning to it to advertise job vacancies. It might be assumed that human resources professionals, of all people, should be aware of how recruitment via social media might contravene employment law. However, corporate social media usage continues to constitute an area of varying shades of grey.
Social media for recruitment might be viewed as a cheap and quick win. Innocent and budget conscious as it might seem however, human resources representatives are strongly advised to steer clear of advertising jobs solely via social media. What they may unwittingly face are accusations of social exclusion, resulting from their unintentional assumptions that everyone, including current staff, has access to particular sites.
There are further potential dangers afoot for human resources personnel who decide use social media to screen job applicants. It might seem, on the surface, like a smart thing to do, in order to get an advanced sense of who applicants really are. It can have disastrous consequences. If applicants sense that they have been unsuccessful due to information that employers have sourced on social media, they can instigate employment tribunal proceedings on grounds of discrimination.
Businesses retaining outsourced human resources services regularly rely on their suppliers to get involved with and oversee the recruitment process on their behalves. Businesses that have not yet such a step are frequently inclined to do so, in order to safeguard themselves against ever evolving rafts of employment law.
We, at NorthgateArinso, offer premium outsourced human resources services that are not accompanied by premium price tags. We are experts in both recruitment and social media in the workplace. Our working knowledge of the legal combination of both is just one of the many ways we help businesses to abide by employment law.