Job Application

[VeterinaryCareAssistant]

AIBU to think this is a nosey c* kind of question to ask on a job application?

It had a drop down box where you could select the job.

Why is it anyone's business?

Very! Are they trying to work out what 'class' you are? Don't see how that's relevant to anyone's ability to do the job.

Oh if this is a civil service job application then it’s to do with monitoring if they are having a diverse enough range of applicants applying.

It is nothing more than diversity monitoring and has no impact on any offer of an interview, the selecting panel don’t see it, it stays with recruitment/HR.

Very possibly - but (speaking as a Yorkshire coal miner's daughter) I don't trust the feckers NOT to use it to screen us OUT.

@notmetodayagain I think it is classist.
As it happens my mum worked in an office (bought ledger) and my dad worked in a shop, so nothing exciting, but what if I'd been in care or they were unemployed or in something controversial.

The job also asked for my postcode directly after this question.

It’s part of diversity monitoring to check the background of the people they’re hiring. There’s usually an opt out “Prefer not to say”.

@LittleRedYarny yes, a civil service role.

Which surely renders the exercise pointless?

It's so they can later see how many people ftom x background are applying and utilise appropriate positive action tools to amend ads or culture to attract people from different backgrounds.
Thry are not filtering you by that

It’s diversity monitoring. Places that ask these questions actively want people from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure everyone’s getting a fair crack. That said, it can’t be used to influence whether you get an interview or not and that information is usually anonymised and for record keeping purposes only.

Genuinely it really isn’t part of selecting your suitability for the role, it’s just to try and make sure adverts and jobs are available to the broadest possible number of people no matter your background etc. It may be consider by some a clumsy crap method to ensure this is done, and I don’t know how it would help them think up ways to attract unrepresentated groups but that really is the sum total of it. I think it is really important that the civil service is made up of as much diverse representation of the country it serves.

I think it's actually the opposite of what people are thinking and if you are from a working class/deprived background as a child you are more likely to get through screening. They are trying to make sure the playing field is levelled so that those with less advantage as a child have equal opportunity to jobs as those with a more privileged start in life. Or that's why it was originally brought in. The recruiting manager shouldn't even see the answers to this, it's for the organisation as a whole/hr to ensure people are not disadvantaged in the recruitment process.

We ask this is in all civil service roles. Trying to hire less middle class people and ensuring that there is a mix of staff that properly reflect society.

you are more likely to get through screening.

No you are absolutely not. It has NO effect on you passing sift. At all. That would be discrimination

It is part of diversity tracking

It’s this - it’s not trying to find out what class you are - well at least not for negative reasons.

We have this at work and we’re private sector (law firm).

Basically if we look at the results over a year and see that almost everyone applying grew up with professional-level parents, then we would look at adapting our job adverts and see if the language is actually putting off working class people, or we'd maybe change what locations we attend jobs fairs.

They compare the figures of people applying to people who get the job. So if 95% of applicants say their parents were unskilled, and 95% of people who actually get offered the jobs in the company say their parents were professional level - the it's a sign that we need to do something different

The point is they would be delighted to employ you if your parents had been unemployed!!!

This is social engineering. They have targets. There is an ESG reporting requirement for business.

It affects investment and Govt contracts.

They NEED more people who were on free school meals etc. For their stats.

Are you required to give a truthful answer ? How would they know ?

No onr will know but just give no answer rather than lie. There should always be "rather not answer" or similar. Or if possible just don't fill it up

Glad people are talking about this anyhow.

In the civil service they keep the diversity info separate to your application don't they? So they can't discriminate one way or the other

I find the gender reassignment question more offensive than what job my parents had. I always select prefer not to say

If I’m honest I’ve had this on a few job applications and always say prefer not to say. I had oxbridge educated parents and worry I’ll be filtered out because of this due to the reasons given above 🙈. I answer all other diversity questions

Some places "forget" to include the ability to record "prefer not to say", "not applicable" or somesuchsimilar.

And with computers, it's trivial to fuck up a form and instead of checkboxes use radio buttons to enforce and answer. As anyone who has done a YouGov survey knows.

The people who are advantaged by it will mention it during the process so you can be filtered out anyway.

Worse, people will become used to disclosing this regularly for every job and will learn that what their parents did defines their prospects. Creating class loyalties. As the UK becomes poorer, class war is another divider in competing for Govt preference in unfairly distributing privileges.