People Matter – May 2025

Catfishing in recruitment

Have you ever exaggerated company perks to attract staff to your workforce? Or noticed how the new hire who boasted their strong time management skills is always late to the office? If so, you may have been involved in recruitment catfishing.

Catfishing, in a general sense, refers to people intentionally misrepresenting themselves. So, in recruitment, it is when either party deceives in this way during the hiring process.

This could be prospective employees exaggerating, or even lying, about their skill set or experience. For employers, catfishing could mean making false commitments about your company: like claiming prioritisation of work/life balance when in reality your staff struggle to book time off.

If any of this sounds familiar, that’s because recruitment catfishing is on the rise. Recent research in the US found 13% of employees admit to catfishing – but this might not be accurate, as 67% of staff believe their coworkers have catfished! Surprisingly, 79% of employers interviewed also admitted to catfishing.

Recruitment catfishing might seem harmless – but it can put you at risk of some serious consequences. If you’ve embellished just how great your company is, staff will become disengaged when they discover your business isn’t quite what you’ve made it out to be.

This will likely impact morale and work ethic: decreasing performance, productivity and your overall output. Retention will likely be an issue, with staff potentially leaving for companies that deliver on their promises.

For successful recruitment, transparency from all parties is crucial. The truth will be revealed sooner or later, so it’s important to cultivate an honest dynamic from the beginning.

During the recruitment process, encourage candidates to be honest about their skills and experience, and keep your wits about you for any holes in their story.

You should be transparent, too: ensure your recruitment team are honest about your positions and company culture – from the initial job listings to interviews.

Catfishing is just one potential challenge during recruitment. From staying the right side of equality law to getting interview technique correct, there is plenty that busy SMEs can struggle with. If you would like to get better at recruiting, please get in touch and we can identify where we can help.

A limit on seizures…

A company in the UK received negative media coverage after limiting an epileptic employee to only having “three seizures a month.” This comment was made during a disciplinary meeting for her “excessive sick leave” – where she received a second disciplinary when she tried to explain that she couldn’t control the frequency of her seizures.

This controversy sparked a wider discussion on the treatment of epileptic staff in the workplace, increasing pressures on employers to do more to support workers with serious health conditions.

A UK study found 60% of workers with epilepsy claim to have experienced unequal treatment or discrimination at work due to their condition. Meanwhile, 42% of employers admitted they’d be less inclined to hire someone with epilepsy to avoid potential challenges – despite knowing it is discrimination to do so.

In Ireland, it’s a legal requirement to put reasonable adjustments in place for employees with health conditions which would constitute a disability. Failure to do so could land you in court. It’s in your best interest to avoid discrimination claims at all costs: discrimination tribunals are expensive and could damage your company’s reputation.

If you employ staff with serious health conditions like epilepsy, you might be feeling pressure to get everything right. We understand that this can be difficult to navigate: you’ll want to strike a balance between supporting your workforce, whilst ensuring targets are still met.

Take the time to understand your employees’ individual needs and requirements (with occupational health professionals where appropriate), cultivating a culture of open communication to do so. This approach will inform you when implementing reasonable adjustments to help your staff succeed.

It is not to say that if they are not capable of doing a job you do not have other options, but it is essential to follow the proper process.

If you’re seeking more specialised guidance, get in touch today to see how we can help you stay compliant with legal requirements whilst supporting your staff and your business!

UK Supreme Court ruling on women and sex

You’ve likely seen media coverage on the UK’s Supreme Court ruling.

On 16th April, the Supreme Court clarified the meaning of “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010: confirming that within the act “women” only refers to the biological female sex. This ruling doesn’t affect a person’s right to identify as a different gender and use different pronouns.

Over in the UK they are now interpreting precisely what this means for workplaces and how employers should respond. If you have employees or premises across the border in Northern Ireland you will need to watch this space.

As it is in Ireland, gender reassignment in the UK is still a protected characteristic in itself, and a harmonious workplace is good for business.

If you don’t already, consider investing in well-being services to support your staff – potentially helpful for a variety of issues including this.

A government statement here made clear the protections in place for transgender people. Some think, however that if the same matter was put before Irish courts, a similar judgement would be reached.

If you’re seeking further clarity or guidance following these changes, please get in touch with us.

Looking at the impact of the right to switch off

When it was introduced in 2021, the Code of Practice on the Right to Switch Off caused quite a furore. Employers were rightly concerned it would be too heavy-handed, interrupting business operations and causing conflict.

Four years on, its impact looks to have been more muted, with very few cases where the code has even been referenced before the WRC. It helps that the way it has been done is as a non-binding code.

The code calls for policies like annual leave and health and safety to be updated to reflect a right to switch off and also to have a specific policy. This gentle approach appears to be working at softly changing culture without being burdensome on employers, so if you still need your policies updating to reflect the code, please contact us.

Keeping the confidential, confidential

Some things are better kept private. In the case of sensitive files about staff, it is the law.

In the UK, a business recently lost a tribunal after disabled employee, Liv, saw her manager’s screen had an open document titled “Concerns Re Liv” in a large, bold font! In its decision, the tribunal found that leaving sensitive documents accessible like this disadvantages disabled employees; relating it to being a failure to make reasonable adjustments.

It is an important reminder to consider how sensitive material is handled within your business. You should work with management to ensure any confidential material is not accessible – let alone visible – to employees. Have a process.

These considerations are even more important if you have vulnerable staff in your workforce – as a simple managerial slip-up could be used against you in a tribunal.

Is 35 old?

Is 35 old? According to employers in China, it’s ancient!

The Chinese workforce is currently facing the “curse of 35”, which has employers openly expressing a preference for younger, unmarried workers. There’s a perception that “older” workers are less willing to work long hours and can’t adapt as well to new technologies. This stigma pervades several industries in the country, with many civil service departments even having an age limit of 35 and under for entrance exams.

Whilst age discrimination does exist in Ireland (and is illegal), this is to a very different extent! It’s likely reinforced by China’s 996 work structure: a 9AM – 9PM, six days a week routine, which may seem more suitable for younger workers. Regardless of age, we’re sure few will be complaining about their 9-5 hours after they have read this!