If a job candidate suspects that he or she has been discriminated against in the recruitment process and wants to know the reason for his or her exclusion, the employer must provide him or her with a written clarification for the recruitment decision.
In doing so, the employer is not required to provide the personal details of the employee selected, but the reasons given must be substantive. It should be explained which criteria were used to select the most suitable employee, why the complainant was excluded or why the other candidates were better.
The purpose of the employer’s clarification is to dispel the suspicion of discrimination. However, this requires that the criteria for selecting an employee are well thought through in advance and the recruitment process is transparent. Transparent process means that the selection criteria have been publicly disclosed and the recruiter can use them to explain why the selected candidate was stronger.
The selection of the most suitable candidate is lawful if the criteria for selection include those that contribute to the successful completion of tasks. Such criteria are the candidate’s length of employment, education, work experience, other skills needed for work, personal characteristics and other skills or reasons providing clear benefits.
If you did not find an answer to your concern, you may contact the Estonian Commissioner for Gender Equality and Equal Treatment in a free format by sending an email to avaldus@volinik.ee. When contacting the Commissioner, the identity of the person shall not be disclosed and, upon request, anonymity shall be guaranteed.
