Guide to Positive Action within Recruitment

Introducing key aspects of best practice in relation to equitable recruitment practices. This resource provides departments with strategies to help attract and recruit diverse applicants.

Contents

• When and how you may use positive action in recruitment     
• Advertising    
• Tie Break Situation 

When and how you may use positive action in recruitment

1. This guide must be read in conjunction with UCL's Recruitment and Selection Procedure which has a fair and inclusive approach at every stage of recruitment. 

2. Positive action is a range of voluntary measures allowed under the Equality Act 2010 which can be lawfully taken to encourage and train people who share a protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation) which is under-represented in an organisation to help them overcome disadvantages in competing with other applicants.

3. Positive action must not be confused with positive discrimination, which is unlawful, such as the setting of quotas which must be filled or only accepting applications from a particular protected characteristic. Where positive action has been taken to encourage applicants from disadvantaged groups to apply for a role, every applicant must be considered on individual merit and selection for interview and appointment must be based strictly on the agreed selection criteria.

4. The Equality Act 2010 permits reasonable adjustments which may give preferential treatment to an individual with a disability.

5. Positive action should be evidence based.  If there is no evidence that a particular group is under-represented in the workforce or at a particular level in the workforce, or suffers a disadvantage, you should not use positive action in recruitment-related activities. It is also important, where positive action has been put in place, to review this on a regular basis, as the position may change over time.

6. Evidence may consist of analysing UCL workforce data or other internal data against sector or national averages to demonstrate under-representation in the workforce.  If UCL does not hold such data, relevant sector or national data may be used.  Other evidence may consist of data demonstrating a disadvantage or particular need.

7. Positive action should be proportionate. When considering positive action, it is important to balance competing factors depending on whether the positive action is required to overcome a disadvantage, meet different needs or address the under-representation of a particular group.  The employer needs to consider:
   -    Is the action appropriate to achieve the stated aim?
   -    If so, is the proposed action reasonably necessary to achieve the aim, or would it be possible to achieve the aim as effectively by other means?

8. Within a recruitment context, positive action can include:

   - Placing job adverts to target particular groups, alongside placing the job advert in mainstream channels.
   -    including statements in job adverts to encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as  ‘We particularly welcome applicants who are [enter protected characteristic], as they are under-represented within UCL at this level’.
   -    offering training or internships to help under-represented groups learn more about opportunities at UCL.
   -    offering shadowing or mentoring to groups with particular needs.
   -    hosting an open day specifically for under-represented groups to encourage them to get into a particular field.
   -    appointing a candidate in the event of a tie-break who i) shares a protected characteristic which is disproportionately under-represented at that grade or in the workforce, or ii) suffers a disadvantage connected with a protected characteristic, and is of ‘equal merit’ to the other best candidate(s).  Further information about how to apply this type of positive action is found in the Appointment section of this guide. 

Advertising 

9.    When planning the advert:

• If the role is Grade 9 or 10, consider advertising the post as a secondment for BAME staff only, under the Accelerate to Leadership programme. 
• Read the Checklist regarding disabled applicants.
• Consider placing the advert on a channel that has a diverse readership or is dedicated to the group with a protected characteristic which is underrepresented.
• Actively advertise and promote roles within internal diverse UCL networks. 
• Be explicit about hybrid working where applicable, and be open to discussing the potential of flexible working options e.g., part-time working and job shares.
• Put the interview date (or expected dates) in the advert so that those with commitments can plan ahead. 
• Use a gender decoder to ensure that your advert does not use language that puts women off applying.  
•  If evidence justifies its use, include a Positive Action statement, such as: 

‘We particularly welcome applicants who are [enter protected characteristic], as they are under-represented within UCL at this level’. 

Tie Break Situation

10. Where there is a tie-break and two candidates are of equal merit to be appointed, the panel may wish to use positive action to appoint a candidate with a protected characteristic which is under-represented or otherwise suffers a disadvantage within the department or at UCL.  However, the panel will wish to satisfy themselves that the other candidate does not have an undisclosed protected characteristic which is also under-represented or suffers a disadvantage.

The tie-break provision is to be found in section 159 of the Equality Act 2010. 

Use of the tie-break provision requires three criteria to be met:

1. Firstly, candidates must be of equal merit for the specific post: the tie-break provision could not be used to favour a less qualified candidate (considering the candidates’ overall ability and experience as well as specific qualities required or any relevant academic or formal qualifications), highlighting the importance of using objective selection criteria.
2. Secondly, there must not be a policy of automatically treating people who share the protected characteristic more favourably (even where employers have evidence of disadvantage or under-representation) to ensure each candidate is considered on their individual merits.
3. Finally, appointing the candidate with a protected characteristic must be a proportionate means of achieving the aims specified by section 159 Equality Act 2010. These aims are to encourage people who share the protected characteristic to overcome or minimise the disadvantage or participate in that activity.

11. In a tie-break situation, the Chair of the recruitment panel should gather any evidence on under-representation and consult their HRPP who will seek legal advice.   

July 2025
HR Employment Policy Team