Interview.....

miduck

Daedalus wrote: »

'Are you a muslim?'

I asked every candidate...

I am not saying it is a discriminatory question, but to claim it isn't just because they asked everyone is absurd.

Parent with young children tend to be viewed as a negative by employers.

Why ask that specific question if it is not to be used in the decision making process?

You clearly did not read beyond the first fifteen words, as I clearly stated "and then the decision is not made in a discriminatory manner".

notanewuser

Daedalus wrote: »

'Are you a muslim?'

I asked every candidate...

I am not saying it is a discriminatory question, but to claim it isn't just because they asked everyone is absurd.

Parent with young children tend to be viewed as a negative by employers.

Why ask that specific question if it is not to be used in the decision making process?

It's a valid business planning consideration. If a member of staff has to leave at 5pm every day without fail to enable them to take over from a partner who starts a night shift at 6pm then it may cause issues for an employer who may need staff to work overtime at short notice.

I once had a line manager that was a job share between 2 mothers - 1 with 2 small children, the other with 1. Between them they managed to put in 6 full weeks in 52. Who do you think did their work while they were off being the main childcarer?

Daedalus

miduck wrote: »

You clearly did not read beyond the first fifteen words, as I clearly stated "and then the decision is not made in a discriminatory manner".

I read it and repsonded to it. Asking someone their faith is acceptable provided they don't use it as a consideration? So they are allowed to ask your age, race, faith, sexuality? I am just nosey employer, I am so not going to base my decision on it...

notanewuser wrote: »

It's a valid business planning consideration. If a member of staff has to leave at 5pm every day without fail to enable them to take over from a partner who starts a night shift at 6pm then it may cause issues for an employer who may need staff to work overtime at short notice.

A devout Christian doesn't work Sundays, so it is acceptable to ask such a question? I as an employer might need people to work Sundays.

Note, the question wasn't 'are you able to work overtime at short notice?'. If that was what he was trying to ascertain, he went around it in a discriminatory manner.

Should they be allowed to ask a women if they are pregnant? Or trying for a baby?

I don't dispute knowing everything possible about a candidate allows for the business to make the most informed decision for their business interests, but we don't allow them to ask certain questions because it is unfair.

miduck

Daedalus wrote: »

A devout Christian doesn't work Sundays, so it is acceptable to ask such a question? I as an employer might need people to work Sundays.

If the job was a Sunday only contract (which do exist in the retail industry), this question seems quite reasonable.

You might want to look up the word context, you don't seem to understand it.

notanewuser

Daedalus wrote: »

A devout Christian doesn't work Sundays, so it is acceptable to ask such a question? I as an employer might need people to work Sundays.

Note, the question wasn't 'are you able to work overtime at short notice?'. If that was what he was trying to ascertain, he went around it in a discriminatory manner.

Should they be allowed to ask a women if they are pregnant? Or trying for a baby?

I don't dispute knowing everything possible about a candidate allows for the business to make the most informed decision for their business interests, but we don't allow them to ask certain questions because it is unfair.

We don't know how the discussion about the OP's wife and kids came into it though. There's no such thing as discrimination on grounds of family circumstances. The question posed to the OP could be posed to either sex, and candidates of all ages. Your pregnancy questions could only be directed to women, so are discriminatory.

I wouldn't expect a Muslim to apply for a job in a pub, nor a devout Christian to apply for a job which clearly stated that Sunday working may/would be required, nor somebody looking for a part time job to apply for a full time role. It's common sense isn't it?

Does it even matter? An employer can terminate an employment contract for any (non-discriminatory) reason within the first 2 years now. If they recruit a bad fit, then it's not hard to get them out again.

Daedalus

miduck wrote: »

If the job was a Sunday only contract (which do exist in the retail industry), this question seems quite reasonable.

You might want to look up the word context, you don't seem to understand it.

Well as the OP most likely applied for a fixed hour contract than I don't see your point. They weren't asked 'Can you work the hours that you have applied for?'

Why would a Christian apply for a Sunday only contract?

t0rt0ise

You are right that you can ask these sorts of questions as long as the choice at the end of the day isn't made with regard to these things. But then you may have to prove that your decision wasn't tainted by these answers. So to ask them in the first place is foolish. You can ask the questions in a sensible way. Instead of asking if they are a Christian you simply ask if they are able to work on Sundays. As that is part of the job it is quite right that it will influence your choice of employee.

But it can be useful for the candidate too. I once had an interview where the employer talked mostly about my husband and what he did. It showed me what sort of guy the employer was and I turned the job down.

t0rt0ise

Daedalus wrote: »

Why would a Christian apply for a Sunday only contract?

You make a strange assumption.. that Christians won't work Sundays. Do you really suppose that all nurses for example, are either non-christians or are allowed to have every Sunday off? You simply ask at interview if the candidate is available for work on Sundays.

k12479

Daedalus wrote: »

Should they be allowed to ask a women if they are pregnant? Or trying for a baby?

...but we don't allow them to ask certain questions because it is unfair.

The problem with this is that arguably more people then get discriminated against by association. E.g. women being turned down for spurious reasons in favour of men or older women because of suspicions they may soon want to have kids.

Sambucus_Nigra

cp33c wrote: »

As I mentioned I didn't even think about it, my wife mentioned it to me as she carries out lots of interviews.

If they only asked all the women this question then yes, it would be discrimination. However I assume you are a man and thus it shows that this is not discrimination.