Implementation of the Principle of Equality and Non-discrimination at the Stage of Drafting and Publishing a Vacancy Announcement and Recruitment of Employees

Abstract

The article explores the labour-law characteristics of implementing the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination at the stage of drafting and publishing job advertisements, as well as in the process of employee recruitment. It is emphasised that the principle of freedom of labour, as a fundamental normative value, produces a pronounced anti-discrimination effect at this stage of the employment procedure. Its observance emerges not only as a legal imperative but as an existential necessity for the sustainability of democratic societies and the viability of market economies. Within this context, the author highlights several anti-discriminatory dimensions inherent in the proper formulation and dissemination of job vacancies by employers. The drafting and publication of vacancy notices, first and foremost, serve an informative function within the labour market by signalling the employer’s staffing needs and simultaneously generating legal expectations and obligations, including those of a non-discriminatory nature. Moreover, this process constitutes an essential procedural element of the broader labour-law order and functions as a structural guarantee of equal access to employment-related information for all prospective applicants. Viewed from a legal-theoretical standpoint, the act of announcing a vacancy and initiating recruitment creates a constitutive legal fact that gives rise to pre-contractual legal relations, thereby embedding the requirement of equality into the earliest stages of the employment relationship. Importantly, this process also plays a preventive role by enabling employers to minimise discriminatory risks through legally sound and normatively sensitive formulation of recruitment communications. The article separately emphasises the legal obligations imposed on employers at the stage of recruitment, which arise directly from the application of the principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination. These obligations shape the way in which vacancy announcements are formulated and disseminated, thereby embedding anti-discriminatory standards into the earliest phase of employment relations. Central to these obligations is the prohibition on the use of both direct and indirect discriminatory criteria when describing the desired attributes of candidates for a vacant position. Employers must ensure that all requirements set out in the job advertisement relate exclusively to the professional competencies and qualifications necessary for the role, and that these criteria may be subjected to anti-discrimination scrutiny to verify their business relevance and legal appropriateness. Equally important is the expectation that employers use clear, inclusive, and neutral language in all recruitment communications, thereby avoiding terminology that may inadvertently exclude or marginalise particular social groups. At the same time, it is recognised that certain positions may necessitate the articulation of specific requirements linked to the nature of the work itself. In such cases, the inclusion of tailored criteria may be deemed lawful, provided that such exceptions are reasonable, proportionate, and justified by the functional needs of the position.