Clause 36
Equality Bill
4:30 pm
Vera Baird (Solicitor General, Attorney General's Office; Redcar, Labour)
I would find it difficult in my office to firewall myself off so that I did not know anything at all about the details of a person who had presumably been offered an interview by my personal assistant. I do not think it would be so straightforward for small businesses to do it.
Some HR managers have responded to the hon. Lady raising the matter on Second Reading, with most being against. They oppose the amendment on grounds including—probably not justifiably—that it presupposes that recruitment processes are inherently discriminatory. However, they also say that the proposal is unworkable in relation to the obligations on reasonable adjustment. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development appears to support the amendment, but has said that it would rather see it promoted as good practice, not legislation.