Laws on Recruitment and Selection

Introduction

Laws on recruitment and selection have been around for centuries. Most of these laws can be found at the federal, state, and local government levels. In Canada, these laws are mainly passed at the federal level by house members. The bill usually goes through three readings on the floor of the house and if approved, becomes part of law after been signed by the lieutenant governor. Various countries have different laws that dictate what happens during the whole hiring process. Proper understanding of these laws will help minimize legal risks and liabilities, implications of any action taken and the right time to seek legal advice from expert on matters related to recruitment and selection.

For the purpose of this paper, we will be looking at the different laws that affect hiring and selection process in Canada, China, India, and Nigeria with a view of finding out how it works, the areas covered, and any possible short coming.

Recruitment Practices in Canada

In Canada, there are laws that affect recruitment and selection of potential employees in various organizations at the federal and provincial levels. These laws contain sections that protect employees against discrimination during recruitment, selection and hiring process. Some of the obligations employers need to satisfy can be found in Canadian human rights legislations, employment equity, and employment standard. The human rights legislation shields employees from discrimination. It seeks equal treatment regardless of various characteristics which can be found in the prohibited grounds of discrimination. Employers need to be aware of human rights legislations as it applies to recruitment, selection, and hiring of new works. The laws that have been formulated are aimed at ensuring that there is no discrimination with respect to hiring of members of a particular group of people based on colour, sex, family status, origin, language, and religion. There are legislations that affect recruitment and selection process in Canada, they include, common law, the human rights law, the employment equity legislation, the labour law, employment standards, and related legislation.

Common Law

The common law is supreme in Canada and has a significant impact on Canadian employment practices. This law, according to Catano (2009), consists of a number of Acts and Sections passed by the British and Canadian parliaments since 1867. This law basically spelled out the rights and freedoms that every Canadian employee enjoys at all levels. During recruitment and employment, Section 15 of the common law is often cited which dictates the principle of equality rights. Under this section, all Canadian employees have the right to equal protection and benefit without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation,