Name-Blind Recruitment is to be Rolled out Across the Public Sector
Matt Hancock, Minister for the Cabinet Office, has outlined plans to roll out name-blind recruitment across the public sector by 2020.
These plans are aimed at tackling inequality and facilitating social mobility in the public sector. They follow the publication of the Bridge report on 2 February 2016.
The report was commissioned by the Civil Service to examine why only 4.4% of successful applicants to the Fast Stream graduate programme are from the poorest socio-economic backgrounds.
Other plans outlined include publishing the pay ratio of salaries between the median and highest paid employees and the creation of 200,000 apprenticeships in the public sector. This sits alongside gender pay reporting requirements, which will come in to force for the private sector in October 2016, with the first reports to be published in April 2017
As part of the government's broader goal of addressing discrimination in recruitment, it recently issued a call for evidence regarding the use of closed recruitment processes in the public sector and a consultation on public sector apprenticeship targets.
Best Practice
Name-blind recruitment is increasingly being accepted as good practice. Whilst these plans are aimed at the public sector, it is likely that employers' recruitment practices in the private sector will come under increasing scrutiny and pressure to follow suit as a result.