Periodically, employers want to add job applicant parameters to a job description that seem harmless: for example, a key account manager should be an attractive young man or woman under 35 years old. The reason for requiring such characteristics is simple: according to the company’s experience, such an employee will be more successful in negotiations with potential clients.

But it’s worth remembering: some formulations and requirements in vacancies may be considered discriminatory or in violation of the law. The place of the job posting is not important: an information board in a business center or a website with ads.

Let’s look at what cannot be specified in vacancies in order to avoid fines from supervisory authorities or lawsuits by candidates.

Any form of discrimination is strictly prohibited when the requirements for a candidate are not related to professional competencies. This means the following parameters:

• The text of the vacancy is only in a foreign language. The company is looking for a specialist with a good knowledge of a foreign language and places an ad, for example, in English or Chinese. You can’t do that: in Russia, vacancies must be written in Russian. It is allowed to duplicate the title and job description in a foreign language, but the main text must be in Russian. For example, the title can be written like this: вакансия Сетевой инженер/Network Engineer vacancy.
  
  
• Age. The ad can’t specify “preference is given to applicants from 25 to 40 years old.” There are exceptions, but most are related to government service or work for teenagers.
  
  
• Gender. There are exceptions here too: they are associated with heavy and hazardous activities. Remember: until quite recently, women couldn’t work as subway train drivers.
  
  
• Race, nationality. It is prohibited to write in the announcement “only Slavs”, “we don’t accept citizens of Central Asia”, etc.
  
  
• Adherence to certain religions. For example, you can’t specify “Orthodox only” in the vacancy.
  
  
• Health status. You can only specify this if it can interfere with the fulfillment of work obligations.
  
  
• Marital status. For example, you can’t search for employees who are “without children” or “unmarried.”
  
  
• Appearance. For example, you can’t write “only slender”, “at least 180 cm”.
  
  
• Property status. You can’t give preference to candidates who have their own laptop or car.
  
  
• Beliefs and bad habits. You can’t hire only non-smokers.
  
  
• Other conditions that can’t affect the quality of the work. For example, applicants can’t be required to have a Moscow residence permit, be a member of the engineering community, or love cats.

Bottom line: exceptions are allowed, but only if there are reasonable business requirements or specific working conditions.

“Until the end of the summer, Awara is reducing its recruitment rate to 13% of the candidate’s annual income. It is convenient to cooperate with us even for companies that have their own recruitment department: you pay for Awara’s services only if you hire a candidate we have proposed — and no prepayment is required.”

— Ekaterina Lazareva, Head of Direct Search

“Also, don’t forget that the law obliges employers to notify the employment center of vacancies on a monthly basis. And in some cases, it is mandatory to publish vacancies on the portal “Jobs in Russia”. Please contact us if you need help with this issue.”

— Eugene Isaev, General Director of Awara

Our contacts

info@awaragroup.com

+7 495 225-30-38 Moscow
+7 812 244-75-49 Saint Petersburg
+7 495 225-30-38 Tver