Research conducted by HRS, the recruitment firm run by former Apprentice winner Ricky Martin, has revealed that 77% of interviewers surveyed do not consider asking whether a candidate is planning to take maternity or paternity leave in an interview to be potentially illegal. 40% think it an acceptable question, 36% think it inappropriate but no more.
Knowing whether a question is technically legal or not – it is not, technically, illegal to ask about plans to have a family – should be less significant than simply knowing what sort of questions are best avoided. If you do ask such questions and then do not appoint the person, you may lay yourself open to accusations of discrimination. Do not, for example, ask about health matters unless the job in question would be impossible for someone with a particular physical difficulty, and stay off the subjects of pregnancy and childcare by working on the assumption that the person would not be sitting in front of you if they didn’t think they could work the hours required.
Every candidate in an interview process deserves the same chance. Achieving this involves more than businesses ensuring that their interviewers ask broadly the same questions in the same order. They may also need to train those interviewers not to make snap judgements based on initial impressions. The HRS research found that 47% of those surveyed had never had any official training on what to ask in an interview.
It should always be born in mind that the law protects job applicants from discrimination and, therefore, doing anything based on an assumption puts your business at risk of a discrimination claim.
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