"Employers are entitled to base recruitment decisions on whether a prospective colleague might damage office harmony by not supporting the same team, the employment judge Daniel Wright said. He ruled that a boss would not be breaking employment law, for example, if they rejected a job application from an avid Tottenham Hotspur supporter because the office was full of Arsenal fans. The comments came in the case of a woman who took legal action after she lost out on a job with a marketing agency because she didn't vibe with her interviewer."
"There may be times when it is perfectly lawful for an employer to decide that somebody just will not be a fit with the team and that therefore it would be difficult to work together. An example of this could be a small company where everybody who works in the office is an ardent supporter of Arsenal football club, and they decide to pick an Arsenal fan at interview over a similarly qualified Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holder because they do not want to damage the harmony of the office. The decision there would be lawful (albeit taking the example to the extreme would not necessarily be good for business)."
Employment law permits employers to consider team fit and potential impact on office harmony when making recruitment decisions. Employers may lawfully prefer candidates who share prevailing social interests to avoid disrupting workplace relationships. A legal decision illustrated that selecting an Arsenal fan over a similarly qualified Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holder to preserve office harmony would be lawful. A claimant who alleged discrimination after losing a job when an interviewer said she 'vibed' more with the other applicant had her claims dismissed. Employers retain discretion to assess whether a prospective colleague would integrate well with existing staff, especially in small teams.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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