Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER October 2, 2017 FEATURES 13 Order # 987329-69557 $81 $68.85 Softcover November 2016 978-0-7798-7329-6 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. * Offer valid until March 20, 2017. Discount cannot be combined with any other offer from Thomson Reuters. Offer not available to academic or trade bookstores. © 2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00242WN-A86270-CM Reduce risk and comply with the law when terminating employees New Edition The Law of Dismissal for Human Resources Professionals, Second Edition A Canadian HR Reporter Special Report Howard A. Levitt, B.A., LL.B. Get the clear-cut, easy-to-follow guidance you need to meet the demands and challenges of employee terminations and avoid liability. The Law of Dismissal for Human Resources Professionals, Second Edition tells you what you need to know about dismissing a non-unionized employee legally and fairly. All the information that's relevant is laid out clearly and comprehensively in one concise and portable book. Organized for easy use, this handy and useful resource allows you to: • Obtain practical tips and strategies from a leading Canadian employment lawyer • Get explanations of your rights and potential liabilities, along with informative charts and checklists • Learn from many examples of actual cases that illustrate each point and help you learn from others' mistakes • Keep up to date with recent developments in the law, including several Supreme Court of Canada decisions Save 15%* when ordering by quoting promo code 69557. Available risk-free for 30 days Order online: www.carswell.com | Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 EMPLOYMENT LAW Avoiding human rights code landmines Automated reference-checking makes for standardized, compliant approach By Lee-Martin Seymour R eference checking is con- sidered somewhat mun- dane and simple, run-of- the-mill stuff, and a quick way to ensure due diligence is com- pleted on a candidate. at is until it goes wrong. Aside from the risk of hiring a candi- date with nefarious intentions, there are legal issues that can arise from asking the wrong questions and, potentially, attracting the unwanted attention of a human rights commission. When it comes to interviewing and reference checking, there are strong questions, weak questions and leading questions. ere are also wrong questions that simply should not be asked but, unfortu- nately, fall through the cracks. Usually these arise despite all the best intentions because, re- gardless of plans and scripts that have been written in advance, the conversational nature of the inter- view and referencing processes lead to illegal questions being un- intentionally asked. Inconsistencies in referencing approaches and a lack of experi- ence driving the process have led to 29 per cent of those acting as references being asked discrimi- natory questions about a candi- date, according to the 2016 Xref Recruitment Risk Index Survey of 1,000 jobseekers in Australia. Questions included age (15 per cent), whether the candidate has children (11 per cent), their mari- tal status (10 per cent) and sexual orientation (seven per cent). It is alarming that these ques- tions are being asked, but the fact is that a lack of standardization in reference checking leaves orga- nizations open to the risk of un- wittingly exposing themselves to legal disputes. No one wants to go before a hu- man rights tribunal because the loose management of a recruit- ment process meant a candidate was asked whether she planned to have children in the next year — especially if her answer was yes and she didn't get the job, prompt- ing a formal complaint. Done properly, reference checks offer a gold mine of infor- mation for organizations and are a vital screening tool at the final stage of the recruiting process. Done poorly, they can be a disas- ter waiting to happen. Too often, the critical stage of reference checking is where the process falls by the wayside. But it shouldn't have to be. It's crucial to ensure candidates are who they say they are, with legitimate, ap- propriate, third-party input. However, in Australia, 39 per cent of recruiters and HR manag- ers believe the reference-checking process — in its current, tradi- tional form — is a formality that serves little purpose, while 32 per cent see it as a drain on time and resources, according to the Xref survey. irty-five per cent of respon- dents said the time it takes to get to a hiring decision is the most frustrating element of the hiring process. Perhaps as a result of these per- ceptions, many HR departments contract out the referencing task to external suppliers, under the impression it will be more ef- ficient and less of a burden on resources. What this doesn't guarantee is a deep understanding of the em- ployer and the person who will truly be the right fit for a role. With a goal of simply getting the job done rather than doing it well, the improved efficiency an exter- nal supplier might offer is not al- ways enough to make it the most viable option. at said, there's no disputing that efficiency must be a priority. In the race to hire the best and the brightest, time is of the essence. A vast majority of candidates will have applied for at least two roles at a time, they're keen to secure their next position, and they cer- tainly do not want to wait two or three weeks for a job offer they've already jumped through hoops to secure. Delays in the reference- checking phase can leave candi- dates open to be snapped up by the competition. A big part of the solution is au- tomation. Automating the refer- ence-checking process means en- suring a standardized approach, with compliant questions, and an added layer of security that simply cannot be guaranteed with tradi- tional methods. More than 70 per cent of candi- dates will take advantage of flaws in the reference-checking pro- cess, according to the Xref survey. Some 42 per cent admit they'd deliberately lie or would ask ref- erences to lie on their behalf. Why give these cheaters a free pass? ere's a purpose for reference checking that is lost when it's con- sidered nothing more than a tick in the box. An automated solution that takes the legwork of the task away from busy HR practitioners is one of the best ways to guaran- tee efficiency alongside security and truly actionable insights. Lee-Martin Seymour is CEO and co- founder of Xref in Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit www.xref. com. Done properly, reference checks offer a gold mine of information for organizations. Done poorly, they can be a disaster waiting to happen.

• Cover