Alpine Energy Ltd was ordered to hand over the names, CVs, qualifications and reference information attaching to job applicants, to an unsuccessful applicant who claimed he had been discriminated against (refer Waters v Alpine Energy Ltd, 20 February 2014).
Mr Waters applied for 2 positions with Alpine Energy, an employer he had previously worked for over 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 that 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 had applied for the jobs that Mr Waters had missed out on. The Tribunal stated that 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 that when recruiting staff. The use of aliases such as applicant “A” may be helpful during any recruitment phase.
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