Since the content of the job to be filled forms the basis of the whole recruitment exercise, the first stage of the process should be to draw up an accurate job description. This need not be an elaborate exercise - all that is necessary is to summarise the main duties and responsibilities of the post. If the job description is later to be incorporated into the successful applicant's contract, it should make clear that the duties it specifies are not exhaustive and that the jobholder may also be required to carry out other duties that may prove necessary for the proper performance of the job (express terms).
An accurate job description is also useful as a basis for job evaluation (job evaluation schemes ), identifying training needs and assessing performance (performance appraisal).
Employers are under a legal obligation to consider reasonable adjustments to their recruitment arrangements and the terms on which they offer employment, in order to accommodate disabled applicants or potential applicants (duty to make adjustments ). It is therefore important for recruiters to be open to the possibility that, in an individual case, a job description may need to be revised to remove or amend duties that are relatively minor but effectively exclude an otherwise well-qualified disabled person from being considered for the job.