Why this matters

Agency screening often relies on reading and writing. Timed tests, long forms and spelling checks can filter out skilled people. That costs your clients talent and creates human rights risk.

Human rights law covers the whole hiring process. That includes the duty to accommodate.

General information, not legal advice.

Step 1: Audit your current screens

List every step a candidate goes through.

Step 2: Remove hidden filters

• Do not reject resumes for spelling errors unless spelling is a core duty.
• Review keyword filters. Add common synonyms and plain terms.
• Shorten online forms. Remove questions you do not use.
• Let candidates save and return to forms.
• Offer a phone option to complete the application.

Step 3: Offer testing alternatives

Rules for alternatives:

• Offer them to anyone who asks.
• Do not ask for a diagnosis to grant extra time.
• Score the same skills, not the same method.

Step 4: Tell candidates up front

Add this line to every invitation:

Accommodation is available at every stage. If a format does not work for you, tell us what would help. You do not need to share a diagnosis.

Step 5: Train your recruiters

• Explain the duty to accommodate.
• Practise neutral responses to requests.
• Show how to record requests confidentially.
• Teach recruiters to separate the task from the method.

Step 6: Track your results

Track these points each quarter:

• Number of accommodation requests: ________
• Number of alternatives provided: ________
• Candidates placed after an alternative: ________
• Recruiter feedback: ________

Only report numbers in aggregate. Never link them to named candidates without consent.

Script for a request

"Thanks for letting us know. We can offer extra time, oral answers or a work sample. Which would suit you best?"