More than half (54%) of UK job interviewers are unable to correctly identify illegal interview questions - because staying on the right side of the law is low on their list of concerns.

According to a survey of 1,900 interviewers by business leadership consultancy DDI, nearly half (47%) consider candidates results for less than half an hour before making a decision.

But 88% of interviewers think interviews are an important part of the recruitment process and 78% would give their interviewing skills a grade ‘A' or ‘B' although 64% worry they might miss some important information about the candidate.

Steve Newall, 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 problems. The average interviewer is far more confident about their abilities than the research shows they should be. In the current climate, organisations cannot afford to risk wasting valuable time and money in hiring the wrong person for critical roles."

The survey found just under a third (32%) use gut instinct to make decisions in the UK compared with 56% in the US.