Employers should take care over the wording of job advertisements as using language that suggests a job is not suitable for certain groups of applicants could be discriminatory. Such advertisements could lead to an employment tribunal claim being made against the company or may even be used in the future as evidence of a discriminatory culture within the business.
Don't specify
A job advertisement should not specify that an applicant must be of a particular 'protected characteristic' (for example, a particular sex, race or age) unless that particular characteristic is a genuine occupational requirement of the role being advertised.
Care should also be taken to ensure that the advertisement does not include any wording that suggests the employer might indirectly discriminate against certain groups of people unless this can be objectively justified.
For example, when advertising apprenticeships, to avoid any suggestion of age discrimination, specific age limits for applicants should not be included in the advert nor should terms be used which imply a particular age group. For instance, using a phrase such as "recent school leaver" would potentially amount to age discrimination against older workers, as might the words "dynamic and energetic" (which may also potentially constitute disability discrimination).
Focus on the job
In short, when preparing job advertisements, you should focus on the specific skills and competencies required for the job rather than the characteristics of the individual. Only by doing so can you avoid the risk of falling foul of discrimination legislation.
