Sales recruitment 'needs to come up to public-sector standards'

Private sector employers need to improve their recruitment processes to ensure that people are not discriminated against, a leading trade union has advised.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said that sales recruitment needs to catch up with the public sector, which has fair employment practices.

His comments follow the release of research from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which showed that some people are discriminated against if their name sounds like they are from an ethnic minority.

Mr Barber said that the level of discrimination seen in the research is "shocking".

"Employers in the private sector have got to get better at recruiting staff and start selecting people for interview based on ability, experience and their suitability for the job, instead of letting prejudice and ignorance cloud their judgement," he added.

Jim Knight, minister for employment and welfare reform from the DWP, said that discrimination has no place in modern society and such actions in sales recruitment should not be allowed to continue.

Aaron Wallis are a Milton Keynes sales recruitment agency with a unique service offering that includes 12 months rebate. Psychometric profiling and online skills testing are also included within a fixed recruitment price.

By John Oak and Paul Goatman.

Filed: 23-10-2009