Companies are not putting enough time and effort into their recruitment processes and this lack of attention could lead to employers facing legal issues.

That is according to research undertaken by business leadership consultancy DDI, which revealed that 50 per cent of UK interviewers could not identify questions posed in an interview which could be deemed discriminatory.

In addition, the company’s Global Interviewing Practices and Perceptions study revealed that some 47 per cent of employers surveyed spent under 30 minutes considering interview results before making a decision on who
to recruit.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Steve Newhall, vice president for Europe at DDI, said: "Job interviews are simply not being given the time and effort they deserve, and could be opening up businesses to
costly legal problems.

"The average interviewer is far more confident about their abilities than the research shows they should be."

He explained that during the economic downturn companies could ill afford to waste "valuable time and money" by hiring the wrong candidate for a position which could be critical within a company.

Central government’s recruitment process has been condemned as inefficient and expensive in a report by the National Audit Office.