A manager may know exactly what a good employee looks like in practice and still run an unreliable interview. Informal conversations can drift into family plans, health history or whether someone seems like the existing team. Better recruitment interview questions test the requirements of the job, give candidates a fair chance to show evidence and leave a decision record the employer can explain.
Build the questions from the work
Start with the job description and person specification. Select the few capabilities that genuinely matter, then decide what evidence would demonstrate them. For a customer-services supervisor, that might include resolving complaints, organising cover and giving useful feedback. A broad question about personality rarely tests those requirements well.
Prepare a common set of core questions and a simple scoring guide before interviewing. Acas recommends asking the same questions where possible and deciding against the job description and person specification. Relevant follow-up questions can clarify different examples; consistency does not require pretending every candidate gives identical answers.
For a Newcastle service business, ask how a candidate would prioritise three urgent customer problems with limited staff. Specify the same scenario for everyone. Score the reasoning, communication and escalation decisions you actually need. Do not quietly substitute whether the person shares the owner’s hobbies or went to a familiar school.
Replace personal questions with evidence questions
GOV.UK warns employers not to ask about marriage, civil partnership, children or plans to have children. Casual conversation does not make those questions suitable selection evidence. A manager trying to establish availability should explain the actual working pattern and ask whether the candidate can meet it, without investigating childcare arrangements.
If travel is essential, describe where, how often and with how much notice. Ask how the candidate would meet that requirement. Do not assume that age, sex, caring responsibilities or a disability predicts availability. Before imposing a requirement, consider whether it is genuinely necessary and whether adjustments or a different arrangement could meet the business need.
Useful questions include: “Tell us about a complaint you resolved and how you judged the outcome”; “What would you do if two instructions conflicted?”; and “Talk us through how you checked a task before handing it over.” Follow up with what the person did, why they chose it and what happened.
Know the boundary on health questions before an offer
For employers in Great Britain, section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 generally restricts questions about an applicant’s health before a conditional or unconditional offer, subject to defined exceptions. It is not a licence to ask for diagnoses because the job is busy, physical or stressful. The Act also contains a specific provision for a pool from which future offers will be made; do not treat every interview shortlist as that arrangement.
Permitted purposes include arranging assessment adjustments and establishing whether someone can perform an intrinsic job function after relevant reasonable adjustments. Other limited exceptions cover diversity monitoring, lawful disability positive action and a justified requirement to have a particular disability. These are purpose-specific exceptions, not permission for a general medical questionnaire.
For example, a question about how a candidate would perform an essential handling task should use an accurate task description and consider adjustments. Asking how many sick days they took last year or whether they have ever experienced depression is not an appropriate substitute. A safety concern should prompt a proper assessment of the work and the lawful enquiry needed.
Arrange an accessible interview without turning it into a medical assessment
Ask invitees whether they need adjustments to take part in the selection process. Acas gives examples such as an accessible interview room, additional time for an assessment or a sign-language interpreter. Discuss what would help the candidate participate; the purpose is to remove disadvantage, not to obtain a complete health history.
Keep the adjustment conversation separate from scoring competence. A candidate receiving extra assessment time should not lose marks for using it. Give interviewers clear instructions about the agreed arrangement, share only what they need to deliver it and avoid adding assumptions about future absence or productivity.
If someone volunteers personal health or family information, acknowledge it without pursuing irrelevant detail. Redirect to the role and any requested adjustments. Record evidence relevant to the selection decision, rather than building a speculative narrative about the candidate’s private life.
Give managers questions they can use confidently.
HR + SAFETY’s HR support can help turn the role requirements into an interview plan, scoring criteria and a practical process for adjustment requests.
Review your interview processScore the answers before discussing impressions
Where possible, use more than one interviewer and agree who will ask questions and take notes. Give each panel member the same criteria. A practical approach is to score independently first, then compare the evidence behind any differences. That helps reveal when one interviewer has rewarded confidence while another has assessed actual experience.
Define what a strong answer looks like without expecting one rehearsed phrase. For a complaint-handling question, useful evidence might be listening, checking facts, acting within authority and explaining follow-up. Allow comparable examples from different workplaces. A candidate from a small employer may have done the relevant work without holding a familiar job title.
Avoid unexplained labels such as “poor fit” or “not our type”. If communication matters, identify the actual requirement and the answer that demonstrated or failed to demonstrate it. Do not mistake accent, eye contact or interview nerves for competence without examining what the role genuinely requires.
Keep monitoring information and post-offer checks in their proper place
Acas says equality-monitoring information should be separate from applications and unavailable to people selecting candidates. Its purpose is to understand the recruitment process, not to give the panel extra personal information. Keep interview notes secure and confidential, explain recording arrangements and obtain permission before recording an interview.
Health questions can be asked after a conditional or unconditional offer, but discrimination duties still apply. The government’s health-question guidance explains that post-offer enquiries do not remove protection from disability discrimination. Use any health information for a defined, necessary purpose and consider reasonable adjustments before deciding that a candidate cannot do the work.
Keep the offer stage controlled. Interviewers should know who has authority to make an offer and which proposed conditions have been approved. State conditions accurately and separate the selection decision from the process for obtaining and assessing required checks.
Related guide: withdrawing an employment offer → · Related guide: employment references →
The interview preparation checklist
- Confirm the essential job requirements and remove unnecessary barriers.
- Prepare common core questions and evidence-based scoring criteria.
- Brief interviewers on prohibited personal questions and health-enquiry limits.
- Invite adjustment requests and arrange the agreed support.
- Keep equality monitoring away from the selection panel.
- Use relevant follow-up questions and record evidence rather than impressions.
- Review scoring differences and document the reasons for selection.
- Explain next steps, offer conditions and how candidates will hear the outcome.
A fair interview is a planned assessment of the job. Ask relevant questions, make necessary adjustments, keep health enquiries within their proper limits and explain selection through evidence. Better questions help managers choose well and avoid preventable problems before employment begins.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.