Would this be employment discrimination?

Morphlaw

Hi I have a question for those of you familiar with this area of employment law.
I recently applied for a job requiring a 'native-level Spanish speaker'.

My mother is spanish. I've lived in London my whole life, but have visited Spain almost every year, and I've held a Spanish passport my whole life. This makes me spanish despite not physically residing there.

More importantly I hold a DELE C2 which is a diploma certifying mastery of spanish (I can't provide a link but if you google 'DELE superior level C2 - the second link provides a description).
I also have an A-level in Spanish.

I was told on the telephone that I am not suitable because I am either not 'native-level' or 'native'.

I subsequently called the recruitment agent back and politely explained more in-depth, after which she agreed to at least present my CV to the employer. I stopped there.

I considered raising that such stringent requirements on their part is discriminatory. Is this the case?

k3lvc

Unlikely - was the rejection based on your qualification or you actually speaking Spanish to them and them judging you on the performance ?

LKRDN_Morgan

Morphlaw wrote: »

Hi I have a question for those of you familiar with this area of employment law.
I recently applied for a job requiring a 'native-level Spanish speaker'.

My mother is spanish. I've lived in London my whole life, but have visited Spain almost every year, and I've held a Spanish passport my whole life. This makes me spanish despite not physically residing there.

More importantly I hold a DELE C2 which is a diploma certifying mastery of spanish (I can't provide a link but if you google 'DELE superior level C2 - the second link provides a description).
I also have an A-level in Spanish.

I was told on the telephone that I am not suitable because I am either not 'native-level' or 'native'.

I subsequently called the recruitment agent back and politely explained more in-depth, after which she agreed to at least present my CV to the employer. I stopped there.

I considered raising that such stringent requirements on their part is discriminatory. Is this the case?

The fact your mums Spanish and you visit every year is irrelevant. I go to Jamaica every year. Doesn't make me Jamaican.

Surely it boils down to whether you can speak Spanish at the level they require.
Are your qualifications recently obtained?

Morphlaw

k3lvc wrote: »

Unlikely - was the rejection based on your qualification or you actually speaking Spanish to them and them judging you on the performance ?

The recruitment agent doesn't speak spanish, only her client (the employer) does.

She didn't say my qualification was not good enough, simply that her client requires a 'native'.

Bear in mind the job is to do with client service support in the fintech market. So it isn't a public sector position. Its kind of a standard admin job with consumer contact.

Undervalued

LKRDN_Morgan wrote: »

The fact your mums Spanish and you visit every year is irrelevant. I go to Jamaica every year. Doesn't make me Jamaican.

Surely it boils down to whether you can speak Spanish at the level they require.
Are your qualifications recently obtained?

Well it probably entitles the OP to be a Spanish citizen and have a Spanish passport! Unless either of your parents are Jamaican it is not a direct comparison.

That said, I agree it is unlikely to amount to unlawful discrimination.

sangie595

I would interpret the term "native Spanish" to mean that the employer wants someone who is fluent in colloquial Spanish, not someone who has passed examinations in Spanish. "Correct" language, as it is taught, is generally not the language of everyday life. That is true of every language. If this is what is being asked for, then it couldn't be discrimination. You do not have to be Spanish to speak the language like a native. And it also wouldn't necessarily be the case that you need exams either.

Alice_Walker

Your qualification is Masters level, there is no doubt that you have an excellent grasp of the language, but it doesn't mean you speak it like a native.

They're not specifying that the applicant must be Spanish, what they're looking for is someone with strong experience of speaking the language in a native setting, for instance it could be an English person that has lived in Spain, or who spent a year there as part of their studies. This is not discrimination, it's simply being picky/ highly selective.

Morphlaw

Thanks for all your replies - I supposed it probably wasn't discrimination but I was curious.

Undervalued - you hit the nail on the head - of course I'm not saying that frequent visits makes me a native or a spaniard, but taken into context with the fact my mother is and I have a spanish passport you can see where I'm coming from.

Sangie + Alice Walker - I understand what you're saying. Though I'd still say it is complete nonsense that someone who has achieved that qualification is unable to converse colloquially.
After all, the DELE doesn't just test formal spanish, it tests informal as well, including accents and idioms from latin american countries.

Thanks again for all your responses.

paddyrg

I have no certain idea, of course, but perhaps they need to be certain it's unaccented Spanish with an ear for a range of dialects.

I'm just thinking about the reverse angle - would I choose a German native with an English parent and who visits and who has a Masters in English over a native English speaker for some jobs?

jobbingmusician

My suspicion is that they are looking for someone who holds a Spanish passport. Of course they cannot say this in the advertisement, but they sound as if they need someone who can work in Spain. My suspicion goes further - that they are terrified of employing a non-Spaniard, because who knows what Brexit will bring!

However, I don't think this is discrimination. From what my translator friends tell me, you would be unlikely to be employed as an English-Spanish translator, because Spanish is not truly your mother tongue, although most agencies would, by the sound of things, welcome you as a Spanish-English translator with open arms!

unforeseen

I think where you are going wrong is that you hold a Spanish as a foreign language qualification. They sound as though they are looking for somebody who's primary language is Spanish.

DELE even at C2 level, although the highest qualification is still not the same as a native speaker.