I am so mad!!!

woody01

Skint_Catt wrote: »

Went to an interview this morning. All was going well until he asked me my age. I hesitated but said I was 32. Then he continued to ask me about my living arrangments and about my plans to marry & have children (whether or not he'd noticed my engagement ring I'm not sure).

I didn't think they could ask you these things now? Surely that's sex discrimination as he wouldn't have asked a male applicant those questions? I'm guessing I won't get the job (and especially after finding out today I didn't get a previous one) and I'm fuming and upset.:mad:

Sorry just had to rant!

No they cannot ask these things.
Although i can see the point of the questions asked, it can be construde as discrimination if you do not get the position.

It is VERY bad practice and the interviewer is not a very good representative of the company involved.

alyth

Skint_Catt wrote: »

alyth as I said in a previous post I'm well aware of WHY he was asking the questions and I have no desire to prosecute or claim anything against him but I'm still upset that I've been written out of a job which I'm more than capable of.

I stated to him at the time that he shouldn't have been asking me those questions but he continued regardless. Even though I may want children after I marry the fact is I may not be able to have any so I'm looking at a future of being unemployable until I hit he menopause!

He sounds like a very old fashioned guy that carried on regardless when you mentioned he should not be asking the question and obviously had no idea how upset you were. It happens more often than you think, when I last interviewed for an assistant a couple of years ago I was told by my boss not to even consider anyone who had children or anyone who looked as though they might want kids - not sure how I would ever have worked that one out, but he was a director of a multi million pound national company! My mother's company is the same, huge big national building company, in her office they have the same unofficial policy.

In the current climate, unfortunately, employers are going to pick those that they think will be less hassle for them, be it a middle aged guy, young single person, etc. Your interviewer I suspect felt threatened, you haven't said at what level the position was, and whilst I think he was ignorant in the way he asked the question, he felt in his opinion that he was doing the right thing for his company.

I agree with Paulf, i am a very active member of the childfree community, I have returned to education this week but I temped on and off for years and always brought up the subject of my not wanting children during the interview, to prove my commitment to a temp job. I'm not saying a mother cannot commit, what I'm saying that in a lot of my jobs I was covering maternity leave and the employer wanted the security of knowing that I was going to be there continuously for 6 months, not go off myself on maternity leave.

Put it down to experience - you wouldn't want to work for a company like that, if you did get the job and did get pregnant a year down the line you can bet the guy would make it difficult for you. The guy was wrong, wouldn't bother me in the slightest if someone asked me a question like that, but I think if you tried to take it further you would end up frustrated and more hurt and probably out of pocket. Not worth it, let someone else work for him and deal with the issues he has!

Savvy_Sue

Skint_Catt wrote: »

Even though I may want children after I marry the fact is I may not be able to have any so I'm looking at a future of being unemployable until I hit he menopause!

And that would be another question no-one should ever be asked at interview, nor should one have to offer information on one's fertility status at interview!

JoolzS

Good on him, the interviewer, for asking (even in a roundabout) way. I think more companies should be able to ask whether or not they are going to have to pay for one of their employees to take between three months and two years off on their (the company's) income.

So many people think that "the government" (i.e. the tax payer) pays for maternity leave. They are just so ignorant to the truth.

If I was every fortunate enough to be in a position to employ other people I can guarantee that I would never even consider employing a woman aged between 18 and (around) 40.

In case anyone thinks I'm a woman-hating man - I will mention that I'm a childfree-by-choice woman.

Julie

ShaShaSha

Skint_Catt wrote: »

Went to an interview this morning. All was going well until he asked me my age. I hesitated but said I was 32. Then he continued to ask me about my living arrangments and about my plans to marry & have children (whether or not he'd noticed my engagement ring I'm not sure).

I didn't think they could ask you these things now? Surely that's sex discrimination as he wouldn't have asked a male applicant those questions? I'm guessing I won't get the job (and especially after finding out today I didn't get a previous one) and I'm fuming and upset.:mad:

Sorry just had to rant!

He may have noticed your ring, and was asking about kids incase you had an idea when you might be wanting to have them.....and ill tell u why...

My sister applied for a job when she moved with her fiance, they asked when she was getting married and if she was going on honeymoon, also asked if they were planning kids and if so a rough idea of when they would tart trying....because there was two woman booked for maternity leave and this way they could know roughly when you were planning and plan ahead.

She got a week before her wedding off, three weeks after for honeymoon and she booked a two year period when she was 'most likely to be trying', so that they could be ready to start looking for someone to cover he may have not told you very well why he was asking, but it could have been why - u never know!

ShaShaSha

JoolzS wrote: »

I think more companies should be able to ask whether or not they are going to have to pay for one of their employees to take between three months and two years off on their (the company's) income.

So many people think that "the government" (i.e. the tax payer) pays for maternity leave. They are just so ignorant to the truth.

Who is eligible for SMP?

To qualify for SMP you must have been:

• employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due

NO employer has the right to turn you down for a job if you plan to have kids in the future, hope u dont even run a business or become a parent for that matter....

Zazen999

JoolzS wrote: »

Good on him, the interviewer, for asking (even in a roundabout) way. I think more companies should be able to ask whether or not they are going to have to pay for one of their employees to take between three months and two years off on their (the company's) income.

So many people think that "the government" (i.e. the tax payer) pays for maternity leave. They are just so ignorant to the truth.

If I was every fortunate enough to be in a position to employ other people I can guarantee that I would never even consider employing a woman aged between 18 and (around) 40.

In case anyone thinks I'm a woman-hating man - I will mention that I'm a childfree-by-choice woman.

Julie

Then lets hope that doesn't happen. I take it you didn't work between the ages of 18 and 40? On a point of principle?

SnowMan

Skint catt, it sounds very much that the employer has asked you these questions in order to discriminate against you on grounds of sex (i.e. not employing women who might become pregnant). And that is awful and is discrimination for which legislation protects you.

If you want to take the matter further (and I hope that you do) or even if you don't then calling the EHRC helpline as ohreally suggests is a good idea. They also have information here on their website about recruitment discrimination

Alternatively contact your local CAB. They will tell you what your options are to take matters forward and help you to do this. They will respect your decision not to take it further if that is what you choose, but at least you will know your options by seeking advice.

Another possibility is to call the ACAS helpline

As ohreally says someone who has been discriminated against during a recruitment process can take the matter to an employment tribunal even though not an employee, but I would suggest it is better to go that route after taking advice.

Good luck.

DKLS

ShaShaSha wrote: »

NO employer has the right to turn you down for a job if you plan to have kids in the future, hope u dont even run a business or become a parent for that matter....

They have the right to hire the best person for the role and Its a major consideration to take on board especially for a critical role or small business, my fiance happily volunteers the information that she never wants children at interviews, as the roles she has gone for its usual a critical part of the decision making process.

carolinosourus

JoolzS wrote: »

If I was every fortunate enough to be in a position to employ other people I can guarantee that I would never even consider employing a woman aged between 18 and (around) 40.

I hope that you're never in this position. I think you'd be an incredibly narrow-minded boss. Do you discriminate against everyone in a similar fashion, or just those people who have what you don't?