Vetting job candidates on Facebook is 'unethical'

Vetting job candidates on Facebook is unethical and could result in tribunal claims for discrimination, delegates at a CIPD forum earlier this month were told.

Mini Setty, an associate for law firm Eversheds who specialises in employment law, said that while the practice was not illegal “it might well be unethical”. She said if an unsuccessful candidate found out that an employer had used social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo in the recruitment process “they might well challenge it if they had one of the strands of discrimination to use”. A potential employee would be able to bring a claim for discrimination on grounds of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion or belief if they felt it had been used against them.