Discrimination at Interview - what to do?

LittleVoice

Think it's illegal to discriminate on the grounds that someone is married, not that they are single.

But it the case of discrimination on the grounds of single parenthood, it is indirect discrimination as pointed out by Emmzi

ohreally

You may have grounds for redress at an employment tribunal, not least the employer may have fallen foul of sect 4 (1) of the Race relation act.
As for asking if you intend having more kids, this was not a wise move on their behalf either.The question it's-self is not necessarily an indication of discrimination however it could be taken as potential evidence that they intend to discriminate on ground of sex.It is unlawful to discriminate on grounds of race and sex at the recruitment (and selection) stages and they may have crossed a line that may place them in the firing line.
I would seriously consider taking advice on this one with a view to making a tribunal complaint.

Savvy_Sue

Ian and those who think it's perfectly fine to discriminate against people in this way: there are ways of wheedling the information out of interviewees, but you can't just come out and ask in the interview!

And who would you rather have working for you, a single parent who's going to work their cotton socks off to prove themselves, desperate to keep their job, or - to use a complete stereotype for which I apologise in advance - a married mum working for pin money who doesn't really need to do so? (yes, I wish too!)

It would be interesting for the OP and Spendless to compare notes and see if it's the same charity. I was appalled then, and I'm appalled now! Charities are NOT above the law!

And I agree that you probably don't want to pursue this any further than a letter of complaint to head office, because honestly who WOULD want to work in such a benighted place, although cc to the Charity Commission wouldn't go amiss, and the Racial Equality Commission too.

looby I don't know that the jobcentre would necessarily get back to you, but have you seen the shoe shop advertise there again? Before you can place ads you have to jump through such hoops - the advert has to be worded so as to give offence to no-one, you can't ask for a sense of humour, for example - that we no longer advertise at the jobcentre.

And what does it matter whether the OP is black or not? You can't just make racist comments in the workplace. The OP may have been ideal in all other ways, but if they have a black partner / child / granny you've lost them by your remarks before you start!

C_Ronaldo

Why shuldnt more comapnies take on more lone parents,

alyth

I can see both sides to this. I recently had an interview for maternity cover, and the two interviewers did everything they possibly could to ask me whether I either had children or were planning to have children. In the end, I said straightly that I had no children nor were planning any, and that I could fulfill the contract duties - they were immensely relieved, and I've since found out as I got the contract that the reason was that I didn't have children and was flexible as to what hours I could work. Rightly or wrongly, companies do suffer as a result of the maternity regulations, and I don't feel there's any thing wrong in asking questions about child-care cover. As an example, my curent company are paying £25 an hour for me to cover someone's maternity leave because the girl got the job and 2 days later informed them she was pregnant.

Like I say, I can see both sides to this, as a child-free person I have no problem with people coming out and asking me about my personal situation, I freely volunteer the information and it's to my advantage. My mother's company has a policy of trying not to employ women under 40 as they've had bad experiences with employing women and then having to pay both maternity pay and temp pay. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, it's just a fact of business nowadays.

With regards to the race comment, that's in bad taste and reflects badly on the charity.

acemoola

I'm really suprised that the last poster said that she didn't mind about being asked about having children. Maybe you will have a different opinion when you have children of your own and you find people are evaluating you on whether you may or may not have maternity leave. It's your right to have maternity leave and pay as you are also entitled to statutory sick pay.
If employers can't fulfull their statuatory obligations they they should NOT take on employees, rather self-employed contractors or third party it out.
As for the other posters who have suggested that I might not have got the job for other reasons, that's really not the point.
Employers are not allowed to ascertain certain information which may in part or wholly be used to evaluate a candidates suitability for the position. The people explicity said that their charity could not cope with a person having any maternity leave - if that's the case then they should not have entertained taking on an employee in the first place. Since any employee may got sick perhaps in an unforseen accident and then they'd be screwed anyway.
The law is there for a reason - and because they are a charity doesn't mean they should go under the radar, because they are struggling. What would their benefactors have to say being associated with an organisation, clearing breaking the law with regard to discrimination in recruitment process.
Thanks for all your advice and opinions

LittleVoice

As an aside, I think it was Age Concern who were challenged in an ET some time ago because they were discriminating on the grounds of age - preferring a younger candidate. (Is that ironic?)

Savvy_Sue

alyth wrote: »

Rightly or wrongly, companies do suffer as a result of the maternity regulations, and I don't feel there's any thing wrong in asking questions about child-care cover.

It is possible that they can ask the questions, as long as they can demonstrate that they ask them of ALL applicants, male, female, straight, gay, young, old. It is discriminatory to ask a woman but not a man about childcare arrangements, in the same way as it would be discriminatory to ask black but not white candidates which cricket team they support.

Since paternity and adoption leave are now also available as of right (although not for so long, but nevertheless as of right), maybe we will find more companies asking men as well as women whether they have children and/or plan to have more children, and checking whether they intend to take up to 13 weeks of parental leave at any point before a child's 5th birthday. (And it's up to 18 weeks up to the age of 18 if the child is disabled.)

Savvy_Sue

acemoola wrote: »

What would their benefactors have to say being associated with an organisation, clearing breaking the law with regard to discrimination in recruitment process.

That's a good point, so as well as writing to Head Office, you could also find out who their Chair of Trustees is and cc them in as well ... Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the charity acts within the law, and breaking it and facing an ET isn't the best use of funds, IMO!

ianian99

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Ian and those who think it's perfectly fine to discriminate against people in this way: there are ways of wheedling the information out of interviewees, but you can't just come out and ask in the interview!

And who would you rather have working for you, a single parent who's going to work their cotton socks off to prove themselves, desperate to keep their job, or - to use a complete stereotype for which I apologise in advance - a married mum working for pin money who doesn't really need to do so? (yes, I wish too!)

It would be interesting for the OP and Spendless to compare notes and see if it's the same charity. I was appalled then, and I'm appalled now! Charities are NOT above the law!

And I agree that you probably don't want to pursue this any further than a letter of complaint to head office, because honestly who WOULD want to work in such a benighted place, although cc to the Charity Commission wouldn't go amiss, and the Racial Equality Commission too.

looby I don't know that the jobcentre would necessarily get back to you, but have you seen the shoe shop advertise there again? Before you can place ads you have to jump through such hoops - the advert has to be worded so as to give offence to no-one, you can't ask for a sense of humour, for example - that we no longer advertise at the jobcentre.

And what does it matter whether the OP is black or not? You can't just make racist comments in the workplace. The OP may have been ideal in all other ways, but if they have a black partner / child / granny you've lost them by your remarks before you start!

i never said it was fine i just said thats the way it is, so please dont quote me as saying things that i never.