Firms warn on right to see interview notes

Moves to give job seekers the right to see employers' notes of their interviews would provoke legal claims, a business organ-isation claimed yesterday.

The right of access to interview notes is spelt out in a code sent to employers' bodies by the data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office. It warns that notes kept of an interview, even jottings on a CV, would have to be handed to an applicant on request.

Richard Baron, of the Institute of Directors, said the commissioner's interpretation of the law was over the top. "You will just get much less reliability in recruitment," he said.

Tim Russell, an employment law expert, said written remarks on CVs could constitute the basis of a legal action. "A lot of people write on CVs some very inappropriate comments."

David Smith, an assistant information commissioner, said the code was simply stating the implications of the Data Protection Act, which came into force in October.