Social media screening prior to employment is common place and can be a valuable tool for employers. The difficulty for employers arises when they have to distinguish between information that is helpful in making employment decisions and information that is not but reveals the candidate’s personal interests or beliefs.

It is good practice to wait until after an interview to carry out a social media check on a candidate. This means that the employer is less likely to be accused of relying on information (particularly protected characteristics e.g. pregnancy) evidence from social media when making a recruitment decision.

Transparency is a key requirement under the GDPR and candidates should be informed if a social media search is being carried out that could affect their application. As mentioned, information on social media searches should be targeted on finding out information relevant to the recruitment decision.