Ready or Not: Is Your Hiring Process Compliant with the Worker Protection Act 2024?
With the new Worker Protection Act 2024 on the horizon, HR professionals face several compliance challenges in recruitment. Here are the top 10 issues you need to tackle:
- Adapting Job Descriptions
Ensure job descriptions include clear worker rights and safety measures, but updating them all can be a time drain. - Non-Discriminatory Practices
Stricter requirements mean revising recruitment processes to root out bias and ensure compliance. - Updating Recruitment Policies
Significant policy overhauls may be needed to align with the new regulations, requiring changes to your current documentation. - Training Recruiters
Recruiters need legal training on the new act, meaning investment in upskilling or bringing in the experts. - Ensuring Fair & Transparent Hiring
The new rules call for greater transparency in hiring. Making sure all candidates get equal opportunities could slow down the process. - Handling Extra Documentation
Expect more admin: additional records for interviews, assessments, and hiring decisions may become mandatory. - New Screening Requirements
Enhanced checks—like background screening, attitude assessments, or health and safety qualifications—might need to be built into your process. - Managing Candidate Privacy
Stricter data protection laws mean tighter control over candidate info and how it’s handled. - Remote Work Considerations
If the Act covers remote work, your recruitment process needs to reflect remote capabilities and compliance, including remote onboarding. - Balancing Speed and Compliance
Juggling compliance with a quick, efficient hiring process is going to be a challenge—expect potential delays.
To stay ahead, HR teams need to update software, revamp processes, and stay on top of legislative changes. Are you ready?
About the Author: Paul Newman
Paul is Co-founder & CTO for Big 5 Assessments. He's worked in the Psychometric Testing industry for over 25 years. Paul is responsible for the day–to–day running of the business, but also for overseeing the technology side of the business. Paul has extensive experience in software development, product management, sales and marketing. In addition, Paul also has frontline recruitment & selection experience from sourcing and attracting candidates, assessing, screening, behavioural interviewing, offer management and resource planning as well as developing assessment centres and competency frameworks from scratch. 
