Inappropriate interview questions

[30andgrey]

I just turned down a job offer because I deemed these questions inappropriate….AIBU?

1. How many times have you been on maternity leave during your current employment?

2. What are the details of your childcare arrangements?

3. What does a normal day look like for you in terms of balancing raising a young family and a senior post?

The above questions were asked in a telephone conversation after a panel interview.

Anyone else think these are extremely discriminatory?

I turned down the offer that was 4 pay scales higher than my current role because it seemed like they were asking me to prioritise work if it came to it and I had to go over and above to assure them that being a parent would not hinder my ability to do the role.

Would love to know if I’m an idiot for turning down a whopping pay increase or if I am reasonable for thinking it would have been a nightmare to work for an organisation with this mindset.

Would love to know if I’m an idiot for turning down a whopping pay increase or if I am reasonable for thinking it would have been a nightmare to work for an organisation with this mindset.

YABU for turning down that pay increase without discussing with them whether they were asking those questions of everyone. I think if they'd had to answer this then they might have reconsidered the questions or realised that a 'No' might bring them a tribunal.

YANBU for feeling about the questions.

If you really didn't want the job, fine if you turned it down. If you wanted the job and the higher pay, you've given up a chance.

Personally I think the two issues...the job, and interview questions...are separate. The interview questions could, or might not, be appropriate. But of I'd wanted the job I'd still have gone for it, but would have been prepared to stand up for my rights if it became necessary. To any question about childcare arrangements, I'd always answer "I have suitable childcare arrangements in place" and stick to that, without details.

Even though you turned down the role (and if they're like this at the interview stage, just imagine what they'd be like as an employer!), I think it just might be worth contacting the EHCR, www.equalityhumanrights.com/en and also possibly ACAS, www.acas.org.uk/

You can still complain even if you have turned the job down!

Might help another woman further down the line and as you have already turned them down, you don't have to play nice.

OMG the misinformation on this thread is awful! all those questions asked of a woman or a man are unlawful!

www.interview-skills.co.uk/free-information/interview-guide/illegal-interview-questions

8.1.4 - Sexual Discrimination
This area of discrimination is usually more targeted towards women but do also be aware that male applicants can also experience the same

Interviewers should not make any reference to a person’s marital status, children they may have now or in the future or their sexual preference. All could be grounds for discrimination as companies might be deemed to view a person being married as either favourably in that they may see an applicant as being more stable or, perhaps, unfavourably in that they may see a conflict of interest between a single person having more time to devote to the job over a married person who might have to juggle family commitments

Questions may include

<span class="italic">When do you plan to get married?</span>
<span class="italic">Do have any children?</span>
<span class="italic">When do you plan to have children?</span>
<span class="italic">How old are your children?</span>
<span class="italic">Will childcare arrangements be a problem for you?</span>
<span class="italic">Will the hours of the job clash with your family commitments?</span>

The other area of sexual discrimination would include questions on sexual orientation, which is absolutely off-limits

there are lots of other example questions out there that all fall under same as these.

I strongly suggest if any of you are in a position to interview people, you should brush up on what you can ask, (and it's not just sexual discrimination) before someone comes along and decides to take your company to a tribunal.

Ohh that's shocking. The child care question is perfectly valid and if the question around balancing family live is asked of both men and woman it might be ok but omg asking about maternity is blatant discrimination.

Do you have a source for this statement? Oh my god!

DECADES that has been deemed to be discriminatory, fucking DECADES!!!

@30andgrey Give them feedback on why you turned them down and that you are considering further options!

The child care question is perfectly valid Actually it is one of the questions cited in the EA2010 as being discriminatory!

Of COURSE it's a bit shit, but tbf, a woman (who has school age children) IS going to be more of a liability to many employers than a man.
It's not just a bit shit. It's unlawful under the equality act

People say 'well you know they wouldn't have asked a man that!' Well of course they wouldn't, because their job and the ability to do it, isn't going to be affected by babies/young children as much as a woman.

Do you're endorsing direct discrimination based in sex?

A bitter pill to swallow, and for people to admit, but it's true. A man isn't going to go off for a year on maternity leave (and possibly never return) is he?
Men are entitled to shared parental leave.

And a man isn't going to be called out every other week because the kid is ill, or the childminder is ill and needs the kid to be picked up. And a man isn't going to be taking time off to spend time with the sick child.

Why not? My DH certainly gets these phone calls and will take time off to look after our child if needed.

You can all argue differently, but as I said, rightly or wrongly, many employers see women - especially child bearing age - as much more of a liability than a man... So yep, a woman is far more likely to be asked these questions. Not great and not nice, but understandable IMO.

Again, this is discrimination and a court case just waiting to happen.

Personally I think YABU to turn down a pay increase and not using the new role as a stepping stone to something else if when you were in the role they were discriminatory. With that pay increase I'm guessing there was a level or two up on the scale with a new title that could have helped you to another new role with another increase or maintain the same if this role wasn't working out.

But those question are ridiculous and I think illegal.

The child care question is perfectly valid

No it isn't

The one about childcare could be okay, if they ask absolutely everyone

no it's no alright even if they ask everyone!

see my post above^

Personally, I would not have turned the job down.

I would have said the line was bad and asked them to email me any follow up questions.

Asking only women those questions and not men, makes it illegal. Sex is a protected characteristic.
But we don't know whether they asked men this question or not.

Unsociable hours, with a 1am start and weekend work every weekend.
I understand that the OP is applying for quite a senior position. These types of roles often don't have prescribed hours to advertise them in this way.
It may mean, for example, that there could be crunch periods where you might need to work all free hours every day including weekends. Or that you can be recalled back from a vacation with a 24 hours notice. A childless and free woman would be able to do this - obviously, getting a sweet compensation after. A single mother might not.

Our HR forwards heavily redacted job applications managers have to choose from eight at max. No age, sex, personal details revealed.

crap isn't it. I got asked if I was planning on having any more children in an interview once too!!

@LittleDandelionClock you might live in that world but no one I know does, fathers do nursery pick up and drop offs take parental leave/annual leave to look after sick children, also get calls from nursery to say little Johnny has thrown up and be to be collected. My husband works closer to home than I do, so is more likely to get the nursery call.
I'm sorry if your partner treats you as hired help and expects his penis to abdicate him from all parental responsibility. That's not the case for everyone.

Men can be asked these questions. Utterly absurd to be on the woman gravy train or see them only akin to women.

Refusing an offer on these questioning grounds is poor, you should have asked for the context around them.

My.mum was interviewed for a HT job in the 1980s. She was asked what childcare she had in place, to which she responded "are you asking the male candidates this question?". She got the job and they got the point.

That was almost 40 years ago, it's depressing that this is still an issue.

It's a sticky subject and one that I battled with many years ago as single carer to a child until he was 13 (I met dh when ds was 7 but we weren't living in the same country until he was 13, so effectively a single parent for 13 years). My current employer would never ask such questions and as a result has a high number of young mothers in the work force, but that's not why I work for them. Please let them know why you are refusing their offer - it should be taken further internally. I think I may have accepted the job anyway because having money makes a lot of problems easier, including those relating to single motherhood, and they would not have been able to discriminate against you once you are in the role. But I understand if people feel unwilling to walk directly into a battle zone.

@NewYearNewTwatName

OMG the misinformation on this thread is awful! all those questions asked of a woman or a man are unlawful!

www.interview-skills.co.uk/free-information/interview-guide/illegal-interview-questions

8.1.4 - Sexual Discrimination
This area of discrimination is usually more targeted towards women but do also be aware that male applicants can also experience the same

Interviewers should not make any reference to a person’s marital status, children they may have now or in the future or their sexual preference. All could be grounds for discrimination as companies might be deemed to view a person being married as either favourably in that they may see an applicant as being more stable or, perhaps, unfavourably in that they may see a conflict of interest between a single person having more time to devote to the job over a married person who might have to juggle family commitments

Questions may include

<span class="italic">When do you plan to get married?</span>
<span class="italic">Do have any children?</span>
<span class="italic">When do you plan to have children?</span>
<span class="italic">How old are your children?</span>
<span class="italic">Will childcare arrangements be a problem for you?</span>
<span class="italic">Will the hours of the job clash with your family commitments?</span>

The other area of sexual discrimination would include questions on sexual orientation, which is absolutely off-limits

there are lots of other example questions out there that all fall under same as these.

I strongly suggest if any of you are in a position to interview people, you should brush up on what you can ask, (and it's not just sexual discrimination) before someone comes along and decides to take your company to a tribunal.

This is just an opinion of one website that tries to sell their services on what may be illegal. It is not the law.

Of course asking about childcare arrangements is not illegal ffs. My old employer demanded a proof of childcare for wfh days (before covid).

@S2617

Men can be asked these questions. Utterly absurd to be on the woman gravy train or see them only akin to women.

Refusing an offer on these questioning grounds is poor, you should have asked for the context around them.

They shouldn't be asking anyone these questions.

forinborin there is a way to to ask this without bringing up childcare.

in the interview, the interviewer puts it to the interviewee, that there maybe times when they are called in at short notice for extended hours, would this be a problem?

I voted on this expecting the YANBUs to be 99%. How can 15% of (mostly, I expect) women think that this sort of questioning is ok/legal?! Blimey.

forinborin there are other links provided on this thread.....not just this one, amazingly they all say the same.......