Are they allowed to ask me this in an interview??!

cganim

be_beaney I'd be supprised if you had a case for discrimination unless you said yes to any of the answers. It seems wrong to ask if you plan to have a baby but asking if you are currently pregnant seems more reasonable.

zzzLazyDaisy

No, they are not allowed to ask you these questions. Yes, you would have a case for discrimination - if you could prove it. However, they would almost certainly deny asking the questions (especially once their solicitor got involved) and you'd have an uphill job proving it.

But DO tell the recruitment agency.

Do you really want to work for a company like that anyway???

LookAfterThePennies_4

Well I answered yes to being married!Not that it should make any difference to my job application, or my ability to do the job.

LookAfterThePennies_4

You're right LazyDaisy I've decided I don't want to work for such a backward-thinking company.However I'm not sure about telling the agency incase they think I'm being awkward and don't put me forward for other jobs because of this....

pollyanna24

I think if a prospective employer asked me if I was pregnant, I would be hugely insulted that they thought I was fat!!!

When I had my interview for my current job, my boss asked if I had a boyfriend. At the time, I just answered the question, then thought afterwards it was a bit strange. It turned out (found out at a Christmas party with some of his ex staff a few years later) that his last secretary had fallen in love with him and he eventually had to make her redundant (or something). The fact that he is 50, fat and completely repulsive still makes me cringe now when I think about it! I was 22 when I took the job!

nej

Think yourself lucky. If they offer you the job you get to turn it down, explaining why, and find an employer that's more enlightened.

cazziebo

I'm appalled at what I've just read. If this is a reputable financial services company I'm even more shocked. I would have expected a lot more professionalism.

Candidates should be assessed on their ability to do the job and contribute to the company. To assume a woman might leave to have children is as daft as assuming that a 23 yearold male will take every monday off to cover up a hangover! Pure prejudice and that's why we have antidiscriminatory laws in this country.

yes report to the agency, but it's unlikely they would do anything that might harm their relationship with their client. Definitely call ACAS for advice on what to do next. They might refer you to the DTI investigations or EOC. I'm not sure where this would sit now.

Yes you're better off without them (Unless you were unlucky with a crap unprofessional interviewer and they're really a great company to work for) but do it for other candidates.

Hope you find a much better job with a decent employer!

Cazzie

Savvy_Sue

Agree with telling the agency, maybe along the lines of "I hope you don't think I'm being awkward but I felt very uncomfortable when they asked me ... because I didn't think companies were supposed to do that these days. Obviously I'm not planning to get pregnant immediately, but even asking if I was married didn't seem relevant. I wouldn't mind so much if I thought they were asking men the same questions but I don't suppose they are."

globalds

they cannot ask descrimantory questions .So asking if your pregnant is a no no ....They can however ask if you are seeing a doctor or medical profesional because of any ongoing conditions (that would include a midwife)...That question is none descrimanatory.

alyth

the company of course shouldn't have asked the question, it's against the law, but I guess you have to look at it from their side - they will take you on, pay the agency fee of 20% or maybe higher to employ you, they don't want you to take the job and then three months down the line have to pay you maternity pay and the cost of taking on a temp. As someone who temps for a living, I frequently do maternity covers, and I do see it from the other side with women extending their maternity leaves, etc - I am in no way justifying the questions that were asked, just putting a different perspective on it. I would mention to your agency that the questions were asked, and see what your agency say about it. In my existing contract interview, which again is for maternity cover, the two interviewees tied themselves in knots so much trying to ask whether I was either pregnant or had children that in the end I volunteered the information that I neither had nor wanted children, and gained the position because of that I was later told. It's wrong, but it happens.