Full Breakdown
UK Campaign Highlights Lack of Awareness Over Right to Challenge AI Recruitment Decisions
By Drooid · · How we work
AI in UK Recruitment: The Emerging Challenge
People Like Us, a London-based non-profit, is drawing attention to the legal right of job candidates to contest automated hiring decisions. The organization’s “Reject the Rejections” campaign argues that the rapid growth of AI-driven recruitment tools has outpaced public understanding of the safeguards built into UK data-protection law.
Survey Findings on Awareness and Behaviour
A survey commissioned by Censuswide of 2,000 UK workers who had applied for at least one job in the past 24 months revealed that three-quarters of respondents were unaware they could request a human review of an automated rejection. The same research showed that 70 % of ethnically diverse applicants reported altering or concealing details such as country of origin, religion, or name on their CVs out of concern that AI screening would reject them, compared with 57 % of white candidates.
Campaign for Transparency and Legal Rights
Sheeraz Gulsher, chief executive of People Like Us, says the campaign seeks to remind job seekers of their entitlement to a manual review and to push employers to audit their AI systems, publish the results, and obtain independent assessments. The group frames the situation as an “AI war,” noting that while candidates increasingly turn to AI to strengthen applications, employers are handling massive volumes of submissions through automated tools.
Official Guidance and Calls for Action
Guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) confirms that individuals subject to certain automated decisions have the right to request a human review. People Like Us is urging companies to make this right visible to applicants and to ensure that any AI-driven hiring processes are transparent and accountable.
Potential Impact on Employers and Jobseekers
If employers adopt the campaign’s recommendations, candidates could gain clearer pathways to challenge unfair rejections, potentially reducing the need to disguise personal information. Greater transparency may also compel firms to address bias in their recruitment algorithms, fostering a more equitable hiring landscape across the UK labour market.