Are your interview questions breaking Equality Employment Legislation?

Modern employment legislation, such as the Equality Act (2010), makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees and job applicants because of their gender. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) advises employers that they must have policies in place to prevent discrimination during recruitment and selection processes and when determining pay.

“Unfortunately many employers and interviewers still don’t realize that the interview questions they are asking are against the law,” explains accountancy recruitment specialist Tina Maguire of Norwich-based Big Sky Additions. “Some interviewers have got into bad habits and many think its OK to ask a woman if she is planning to have a family or they try to make small talk which pries too much into a candidate’s personal life,” continues Tina, who helps companies across Norfolk to fill permanent and temporary accountancy jobs.

In a recent survey of graduates from 20 UK universities, employment law specialists Thomas Mansfield found some shocking examples of sexism in the recruitment process. The women were asked to share the most bizarre and offensive examples of questions that they were asked during job interviews. The sexist questions asked of the women included whether they would be willing to flirt with customers as part of the job, if they are planning on having children and their thoughts on dating someone at work.

“Clearly this kind of thing is totally unacceptable in this day and age – employers need to be educated on best practise for interview and selection processes or engage the services of a reputable recruitment agency to ensure compliance,” advises Tina.

For more advice and support with recruitment contact Tina today :-