Wendy Macphail Employment Law Services

Alpine Energy Ltd was ordered to hand over the names, CVs, qualifications and reference information attached to job applicants to an unsuccessful applicant who claimed he'd been discriminated against. (Waters v Alpine Energy Ltd, February 20, 2014).

Mr Waters applied for two positions with Alpine Energy, an employer he'd previously worked for during a number of years. Both of Mr Waters' applications were unsuccessful and he alleged he was discriminated against by reason of age (prohibited under the Human Rights Act). Alpine Energy rejected his complaint, asserting the appointments were made based on the best person qualified and experienced for the job. Alpine Energy refused to give certain documents to Mr Waters on the basis it was confidential information. Mr Waters claimed he needed all information relating to the recruitment process in order to support his discrimination claim. The Human Rights Tribunal agreed and ordered Alpine Energy to disclose CVs, employment history, qualifications, reference checks and any other information relating to the people who'd applied for the jobs Mr Waters missed out on. The Tribunal stated the addresses and contact details could be blanked out, but not the names because 'without the names of the applicants the information may be difficult to use or manage”.

In summary, be mindful when recruiting staff. The use of aliases such as applicant ‘A' may be helpful during any recruitment phase.

This article is intended as a point of reference and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice. Specialist advice should always be sought in relation to any particular circumstances and no liability will be accepted for any losses incurred by those relying solely on this article.