THE INTERVIEW LOTTERY

Interviewing people for new staff positions is a fact of life for any commercial organisation and one fraught with hidden dangers.

There is nothing worse than spending a lot of time and effort in the selection and interview process to then find that the individual appointee leaves the job within a few months of starting, attempts to renegotiate hours or goes off on some form of long term sick.  This cost could be magnified if an agency is involved.

Some employers are tempted in interviews and on job application forms to ask questions such as;

‘Are you planning a family’

‘What are your childcare arrangements’

The (apparent) logic behind interview questions such as these is to determine whether the interviewee will stay in the job offered and reward the interviewers time and energy in that process with a long term appointment.

Many companies and organisations do continue to ask these type of questions innocently or deliberately both at interview and on job application forms.  There is generally widespread confusion about what can and cannot be asked both at interview and on job application forms to determine whether a candidate is ‘suitable’ for a particular job.

The difficulty is that companies and organisations which ask questions such as this risk being taken to an Employment Tribunal, the consequences of which may prove costly.

Questions about age, gender, religious views (all of which used to be fairly standard) may lead to allegations of unlawful discrimination.  According to a recent Which? survey the most common banned question is whether a candidate is thinking about starting a family.

Employers cannot judge a candidate’s ability to do a job on the basis of their age, sex or religious beliefs and as a consequence cannot ask questions focussed on these issues.  Further since October 2006 it has been illegal to discriminate against workers on the grounds of age – unless objectively justified.  Job application forms should not ask for a candidate’s date of birth.  Only if age is a ‘genuine occupational qualification’ can a candidate be asked to provide their age.

No go areas include;

‘How old are you?’

‘Are you married?’

‘Are you planning a family?’

‘What are your childcare arrangements?’

Potential employees are protected by a myriad of legislation including the Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act, Employment Equality Regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act.  As a result employers are not allowed to discriminate against potential employees (who despite the fact that they may not have a job with an employer have nonetheless a claim) on the grounds of race, gender, religion, belief, sexuality or disability.

Tel:       01482 324662

Fax:      01482 223110

e-mail:  enquiries@sandersonssolicitors.co.uk

 Source: Federation of Small Businesses, February 2008