Reject the Rejections

New research from non-profit People Like Us and Censuswide reveals that automated hiring software now stands between UK jobseekers and work, rejecting candidates within minutes, sometimes before applications have even closed. The impact falls hardest on ethnic minority jobseekers. People Like Us is calling for greater checks and balances on the automation and AI tools reshaping recruitment. Used well, they serve a real purpose in managing huge volumes of applicants, but their use must be disclosed before candidates apply, accountable to a human when challenged, and independently audited for bias.

The survey of 2,000 UK job seekers found that 80% have been rejected in the past two years and of those, nearly three quarters (74%) suspect at least one rejection was generated automatically without a human reading their application. And they may never find out as just 15% of candidates say an employer has told them an automated system was used.

Ethnically diverse candidates are hit disproportionately as they apply for a third more roles than white counterparts, are rejected faster (41% within an hour of applying vs 32%), and are significantly more likely to remove elements of their identity from their CVs to get past automated systems (70% compared to 57%). Erasing parts of identity pre-dates automations and AI with decades of UK research on name bias demonstrating how this has been impacting workers, however automations add speed and scale and remove the person who could be asked why.

In response to the findings, People Like Us have launched Reject the Rejections, a new campaign created in partnership with creative agency Worth Your While. The campaign has several objectives: to raise awareness among rejected job applicants that they may have the right to request a human review of their application if they suspect the decision was made by automation; to urge employers to disclose the use of automation in their hiring processes and commit to independent bias audits; and finally, to call on the government to consider screening transparency laws.

At the heart of the campaign is a powerful 4 minute short film starring British actor Ebenezer Gyau (Amandaland, Black Mirror, Suspect). Directed by critically acclaimed director Amara Abbas through new—land productions, Dear [Name] transforms the language of real rejection emails sent to real ethnic minority candidates into a powerful spoken-word performance about hope, exclusion and the invisible barriers facing talented candidates.

Set inside an anonymous waiting room separated by a two-way mirror, the film follows a talented candidate rehearsing the familiar language of corporate rejection emails. As each carefully worded "thank you for your application" unfolds, the audience hears the internal dialogue those messages leave behind - self-doubt, resilience, frustration and ultimately a challenge back to the system itself.

In addition to the film, People Like Us has is arming candidates with a tool to Reject the Rejections, developed with Planes Studio that any rejected candidate can send in just two clicks to ask whether an automation was used on their application and remind job seekers they may have the right to request a human review under existing UK Data Protection laws. The tool is here: https://rejections.plu.org.uk/individuals#request-a-human-review

The findings build on a recent substantial analysis of over 100,000 live graduate applications from UCL which reveal ethnic minority candidates are well represented in application pools for graduate roles but are disproportionately rejected at the initial screening and online testing stage of recruitment despite having similar qualifications. This suggests employer outreach efforts to diversify applicant pools have been successful while adverse impact during recruitment processes remains.

JCDecaux Community Channel is supporting the campaign over autumn, with an initial run across 19 large-format digital sites in London this Wednesday, generating an estimated 154,000 impressions, ahead of a fuller national campaign launching in November. A 30-second cut of the film will also run as a two-week national cinema campaign in partnership with Pearl & Dean from 2 October, screening alongside major releases including Sense & Sensibility, Heart of the Beast, Digger and Verity.