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136 
AVOIDING RECRUITMENT TRAPS
Page 24
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To prevent potential claims arising out of job advertisements, companies should ensure that the requirements for a job are clearly communicated in the advertisement. The wording should not be discriminatory in itself.
The John Berry and Margaret Keane cases will assist companies to successfully defend claims, as they can argue that costs should be paid by the serial litigator. This may be little consolation as most companies do not want to be at a tribunal in the first place.
Adverts must be well drafted to avoid discrimination claims being brought. The advert should clearly state the criteria for the job in a way that does not discriminate against applicants. Do not include anything that may imply that a person of a particular age would not be considered for a job. The only time that an advert should contain an age limitation is when that age is a legal requirement, for example the minimum age for drivers.
The ad should not include requirements that do not relate to the job. A requirement for a HGV driver's job should not be that the applicant needs to have good written English skills. The advert can state that the applicant should have a HGV licence, thus reducing the number of suitable applicants for the job without being discriminatory in any way.
An advert should be worded sensitively to avoid either direct or indirect discrimination. This can be done by stating in the advert what tasks the successful applicant will have to do and what skills they will require and not focusing on the age of the applicant. Workers of all ages can offer real business benefits and so consideration should be given to all age groups rather than just "recent school leavers" or "experienced" applicants.
To do this, employers should use different forms of media in order to reach different age groups and ensure that the job advert does not contain potentially discriminatory phrases such as "recent graduate" or "experience required". It is also advisable to include a reference to an equality policy in an advert in order to show your commitment to equality and hopefully prevent discrimination claims.