Ensuring that you have a fair hiring process is not just about following the law, but it is essential for reputation and success. To attract the best employees, avoid large fines, and create a more creative team, companies must understand and prevent hiring discrimination.

Unfairness can hide in seemingly normal hiring steps that actually hold some people back. This can harm a company's reputation, cause it to lose good employees, which impacts your business. As Malta's workforce becomes more diverse and the fines for breaking employment laws increase, it is more important than ever for leaders to use correct, fair and inclusive hiring practices.

This guide provides clear do’s and don'ts to help you build a hiring process based on best practice and equal opportunity.

Understanding Hiring Discrimination

Hiring discrimination happens when a job applicant is treated unfairly because of who they are, rather than what they can do. This can be obvious or it can happen indirectly, through hiring preferences that put certain groups at a disadvantage. It is illegal to discriminate based on things like a person's sex, gender, family situation, marital status, pregnancy, age, religion, race, skin colour, political views, union membership, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Malta's laws against discrimination are based on several key regulatory pillars, including the Constitution of Malta, the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (EIRA), and the Equality for Men and Women Act (Chapter 456). These are also supported by EU regulations related to employment.

In 2025, the penalties for breaking these laws increased and now range from €2,000 to €7,000. Also, a new EU Pay Transparency Directive due to come into force by June 2026 will require employers to state salary ranges early in the recruitment process and will ban them from asking about a candidate's current or previous pay.

Common Types of Bias in Recruitment

Unfairness in recruitment often comes from mental shortcuts our brains make, not from a desire to cause harm. These are called unconscious biases, and they can be dangerous when hiring someone. Common examples include:

  • Affinity bias: The tendency to prefer people who are like us.
  • Confirmation bias: Looking for information that confirms our first impression of someone.
  • Halo/horns effect: Letting one very good (halo) or very bad (horns) thing about a person influence everything else.
  • Anchoring bias: Depending too much on the first piece of information you receive.

Unfairness can also be built into company habits. In Malta, the "who you know" culture can be a problem. Relying heavily on personal recommendations is a classic example of indirect discrimination. It unfairly disadvantages good candidates who are not in the company's social circle, creating a hiring practice that cannot be defended in court. This bias also affects how promotions are given.

At Konnekt, we actively challenge these biases by meeting with candidates from all backgrounds regardless of age, gender, or other protected traits, and by discussing concerns directly with employers if we sense reluctance to meet a candidate for discriminatory reasons.

Dos: Best Practices to Prevent Hiring Discrimination

Ensuring Inclusive Job Descriptions and Advertisements

A fair process starts with a good job description. Focus only on the essential tasks and skills needed for the job, and avoid vague phrases like "dynamic personality."

Other inclusive language practices are the use of gender-neutral terms throughout (for instance, using "chairperson" instead of "chairman"), avoiding exaggerated or overly specific requirements that might exclude otherwise capable applicants, and adding a clear anti-discrimination statement at the end of the job post.

Standardising the Recruitment Process

The best way to reduce bias is to make your hiring process the same for everyone. Start by using structured interviews, where every candidate for a role is asked the same set of job-related questions. This lets you compare people fairly based on their skills, not on a "gut feeling" or “hearsay”.

Diverse Interview Panels and Decision Makers

Having different kinds of people on your interview panel is a great way to challenge personal biases. Even in small companies, aim for panel members with varied cultural backgrounds and roles, and remind them to focus on competence and team fit rather than personal preference. Interviewers from different backgrounds bring varied perspectives, which makes the final decision more balanced and fair.

Before interviews, hold a short discussion on avoiding bias, prepare structured questions and appoint a neutral facilitator such as an HR team member who can challenge the panel with questions like “What led you to this assessment?” This encourages healthy debate and helps panelists challenge each other constructively.

Ongoing Training and Awareness

Company rules are only as good as the people who use them. Regular, high-quality training for all hiring managers is crucial.

In Malta, unconscious bias training is still rare, but companies can start with short, scenario-based exercises. For example, present two identical CVs with only the names changed (e.g., “Maria Farrugia” vs. “Amina El-Sayed”), ask hiring managers to score them, then reveal they’re identical. Discuss what influenced their judgement. Similarly, role-play interview situations where subtle bias might arise, and train managers to spot and address it in real time.

Don’ts: Common Pitfalls and Risks

Avoiding Illegal or Biased Screening Criteria

It is against the law to screen out candidates based on personal traits protected by law, like their age or gender. Every requirement you use to judge applicants must be directly related to the job itself. Asking inappropriate questions about these topics, even if you mean no harm, can put your company at risk of being accused of discrimination.

Relying Solely on Referrals or Word-of-Mouth

While you can get good candidates from referrals, you should not rely on them as your only hiring method. This can lead to your company's workforce staying the same, as people tend to recommend others who are similar to them. This is unfair to qualified people who are outside of that network. To find the best talent, you must reach out widely using public job boards and other channels.

Neglecting Documentation and Transparency

Not keeping clear records is a major risk. Every hiring decision should be backed up by clear, objective notes. Using structured interviews with scorecards creates a data-driven record that shows your process was fair and consistent. Keeping these records is vital for following the law and for building a culture where processes are open and people are held accountable.

Auditing and Monitoring for Continuous Improvement

Creating a fair workplace is something you have to keep working on. Companies should regularly check their hiring practices to find and fix any potential bias. This means reviewing job descriptions, where you advertise, how you screen candidates, and how you interview. Looking at data on who applies and who gets hired helps you see what is working and what needs to change.

Building a Culture of Fair Recruitment

A fair hiring process needs to be supported by an open company culture. This change must be championed by senior leaders who understand that inclusive hiring practices reduce risk, attract talent, and improve business results. Leaders should lead by example and instill non-discriminatory attitudes as a key part of the company's beliefs and communicate that discrimination will not be tolerated.

Three tangible actions leaders can take include:

  • Actively participating in hiring discussions and challenging managers to explain why a candidate stood out - this often reveals hidden bias.
  • Leading by example by building a visibly diverse team.
  • Celebrating diversity in the workplace, whether it’s cultural, gender, or sexual orientation.

Partnering with Experts for Guidance

Preventing hiring discrimination is a key duty for all employers in Malta. By making hiring processes standard, using inclusive language, training managers, and keeping good records, companies can create a system that is both legal and effective. It's also vital to avoid common mistakes like relying too much on referrals. In the end, focusing on fairness isn't just about avoiding fines; it's about building a stronger, more creative, and more successful company.

Author: Therisa Gambin, HR Professional with over ten years’ experience, with a strong focus on embedding fairness and preventing discrimination in recruitment strategies.