Recruitment in flooring is fast-paced, but legal duties apply from advertising a role to interviewing candidates fairly and lawfully

Recruiting in the contract flooring sector is rarely a paper exercise. Whether you’re looking for fitters, estimators, site managers or office-based support, the pressure is often on to find candidates quickly who can hit the ground running. But the urgency of the process must not obscure an employer’s legal duties.

From the moment you begin advertising a role, employment law applies, and missteps during the interview stage can lead to real consequences, both financial and reputational.

Interviews and the Equality Act
The Equality Act 2010 governs how employers conduct recruitment, including interviews. Crucially, the law applies even before a contract is signed. That means an employer’s legal obligations begin not when someone starts the job, but at the point they’re shortlisted, invited to interview, or even simply sent a job description. This area of law is especially important in sectors like flooring and interiors, where roles may be physically demanding or involve site work, and where assumptions can easily influence hiring decisions if not kept in check.

An interview should be a structured assessment of whether the candidate has the skills and experience needed for the job. That means focusing on the practical requirements of the role – how it will be carried out, what hours it involves, what qualifications are essential. What it should not involve is any enquiry into personal circumstances that are irrelevant to job performance. Questions about family life, marital status, health, or childcare responsibilities, however casually worded, risk crossing the line into discriminatory territory. Even small talk can become problematic if it reflects outdated assumptions, especially if those assumptions influence the hiring decision.

Disability and disclosure
Candidates with disabilities are legally entitled to ask for reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. In practical terms, this might involve conducting the interview in a quieter setting, providing materials in advance, or adjusting the way a practical assessment is carried out. This duty only arises once the employer is aware of the need, so it’s important to encourage disclosure, and to take any requests seriously and without judgement. Rejecting a candidate simply because they’ve disclosed a condition, or because an adjustment might be inconvenient, can amount to disability discrimination.

Flexibility
Another area of increasing sensitivity is flexible working. In an industry where early starts, mobile working and tight deadlines are common, flexibility can seem like a post-employment matter. But candidates are entitled to raise it at interview – and employers are legally prohibited from penalising them for doing so.

If a candidate asks about part-time hours, hybrid working, or adjusted hours to accommodate caring responsibilities, that request must be treated fairly. If flexibility is not feasible, the employer must be able to justify why – not just operationally, but legally, especially where a refusal would disproportionately impact women or disabled applicants.

Salaries
Pay transparency is also coming under sharper scrutiny. The legal principle is simple: men and women must receive equal pay for equal work, unless there is a clear and lawful reason for the difference. In reality, that means employers need to be cautious when setting salaries, particularly if offers are based on a candidate’s previous pay. This practice can unintentionally embed historical inequalities.

Employers should instead anchor salaries to the requirements of the role and the skills it demands and apply that approach consistently across applicants. It’s entirely legitimate for a candidate to ask whether the role has a salary band, how the figure was arrived at, or whether pay is benchmarked internally. Having clear answers to those questions helps avoid both misunderstandings and legal risk.

Personal information
Throughout the recruitment process, employers will inevitably handle sensitive information. This may include details of a candidate’s health, criminal record (where relevant), financial history, or personal contact details. Under the UK GDPR, all personal data must be processed lawfully and confidentially.

This means only those directly involved in recruitment should have access to interview notes or application materials, and any personal information must be stored securely and deleted when no longer needed. If a candidate finds that their information has been shared beyond the intended audience, or used inappropriately, they may be entitled to bring a claim for breach of data protection rights or confidentiality.

Getting it right
Ensuring interview processes are fair, lawful and respectful isn’t just about avoiding claims. It also helps employers attract a wider pool of candidates, build trust, and retain good people. In a sector where word of mouth matters, a reputation for fair hiring can be just as valuable as technical expertise.

Interviews, done properly, are a chance to showcase not just the role, but the business behind it. They are an opportunity to treat candidates with dignity, to avoid unconscious bias, and to assess suitability on a lawful, structured basis.

The contract flooring industry may not be paper-heavy, but where employment law is concerned, the paperwork matters. Getting it right from the outset is not only a legal obligation, it’s good business.
www.buckles-law.co.uk
Michelle Bruce is an associate at Buckles Solicitors