Last reviewed: 22 June 2022
Employment agencies and recruitment consultants have an obligation not to discriminate against disabled people:
- In the arrangements they make for selecting to whom they will provide services
- In the terms on which they offer to provide the service
- By not offering the service to disabled people
- They also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.
What does the law say?
The Equality Act 2010 applies to all employment and occupation services who provide vocational guidance, vocational training and services to help people obtain or retain employment, or self- employment.
An agency must under the law:
- Provide auxiliary aids or services. Examples include providing sign language interpreters or providing information in alternative formats such as large print for candidates with sight loss.
- Offer interviews at accessible venues.
- Make adjustments to their premises if they are inaccessible to disabled people generally who might want to use the service and make specific adjustments for any individual disabled person who is finding it difficult to use the service because of their disability.
It is vital that the employment agency is aware of the requirements under the Equality Act 2010 that apply to it in its position as:
- A service provider, providing employment services to members of the public who might have a disability
- an agent for its client (employers who ask the agency to act for them), and
- An employer in its own right of those who work for the agency, and of people who are employed by the agency and then contracted out to employer clients – for example, as temporary workers.
How to work with employment agencies
Employers should build their expectations of how an agency should manage disability and meet its own, and the employer’s legal obligations, into contracts and other agreements. This includes asking agencies to demonstrate that they know how to and will make reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants – since failure to do so may render both the agency and their client liable to claims for disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
Employer clients will also want the agency to be aware of its clients’ commitment to employing a diverse workforce through best practice recruitment. If an agency does your short-listing interviews, ensure their processes are non-discriminatory. Ask employment agencies to monitor the number of disabled people that they shortlist and interview who self-identify as disabled.
If you are a Disability Confident employer, ensure that the agency is aware of this and will interview all disabled candidates who meet the clearly- stated minimum criteria for the job.
Further information
For tailored guidance about working with employment agencies, contact our Advice Service.
Read next
- Monitoring inclusive practices in outsourced recruitment services
- Procuring disability smart recruitment services
- Charter for disability-smart recruitment providers.
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