Fed up with the racist, snobbish environment at work

[acnebride]

I've changed my name for this. Here's a few choice comments from recent weeks to me, as we're recruiting somebody. I'm SO p'd off with it.

'Have you had many applications? Ooh, hope there's no foreigners, don't get one of them.'

'As far as I can tell, [that applicant] is black. Dr X doesn't really like...' [significant look]

'Have a chat with the applicants on the phone. You'll be able to tell from their voice whether they'll fit in'.

Four things are stopping me walking out. One is that I need the job, obviously. Two is that I have worked in other places where nobody would say these things, but people were treated far worse when they actually joined. Three is that I'm running the recruitment, so they can sod off. Four is that I'm much too scared to confront anybody about anything.

Just wanted to let off steam.

Oh bollards, so much for the name change!

UCM is that you

sorry couldn't resist.

I think the attitudes you describe are appalling and it would pi$$ me off too.

After posting this I was suddenly thinking, perhaps I should stick an advert in 'Employ a Mumsnetter' but I've hardly sold it as an attractive place to work... at least I'd have somebody to talk to...

How v sickening.

At least by staying you are part of the solution, not part of the problem! But if you do recruit anyone who is on the list they discriminate against, they may need some support.

Is there anyone with senior responsibility for HR? Maybe you should have a chat with them.

Unpleasant, illegal...but sadly a warts and all peep into the atmosphere that still prevails more than we imagine sometimes.

The person with senior responsibility for HR made one of the comments on the list.

Great, huh? She's left, actually. TBH she was only passing on the attitudes of the partners. But that's why I am doing the recruitment.

My office is near the admin dept where I work and after last weeks events lots of comments on immigration, veils, terroists etc could be heard as I went past.

I ignore it, which is probably a bit wet and kind of condones it, but I am only here part time and don't actually share an office with them. If I did, I may have to say something.

acnebride - are you doing this particular recruitment just cos it happens to have fallen to you or are you involved in recruitment generally? in either case, but I guess, especially the latter, you could do a bit of research on equal opportunities - find some stuff on the legal obligations as an employer, start making sugestions about developing a compancy eo policy. If you can emphasise the legal aspects they'll have a hard time knocking you for it.

How utterly ignorant ... and blatant. If you do eventually hire a "foreigner", this would be good fodder for a racial discrimination lawsuit from that person - kerching kerching. No wonder they don't want someone who does not "fit in".

good lord, thewoman, of course we have an equal opps policy! and of course nobody reads it!

and i've done loads of recruitment before in other jobs - i'm not qualified but i know the legal basics - sometimes i have to think back over the range of people i've recruited just to remind myself i'm not going mad or about to put 'No Funny Foreigners Need Apply' in the advert. I've fought with facilities people who didn't see why they should fix a door for somebody I recruited who used a wheelchair - it was too narrow for him, but frankly if it's too narrow for a wheelchair it's too narrow for most things - the comments i heard then made these look nice. My view is that southern England is a spectacularly racist place at times. I sometimes wonder if it's something about me that means I end up working in places like this.

you know- i realised afterwards - that that might be the case. Couldn;t tell if it was the kind of place that had one and ignored it, or maybe a really small place that didn't have one (although I have a vague feeling you might be required to have one...). Well is it worth revisiting? or exploring some internal training? With some people it's like banging your head against a brick wall, but with others, if they're forced to think through stuff like reasonable adjustments combined with a reminder that they may well like to still have a job if they were knocked over tomorrow and put permanently in wheel chair, they start to realise that it's not "pc" nonsense...

[wipes brow with relief] as one of those non white & foriegn living here, i am glad to hear that it wasn't just my imagination. have had this underlying feeling in more than one workplace and sometimes was paranoid i was feeling paranoid about it.

Let off as much steam as you like! I'm an OT and spend a lot of my time helping people with disabilities stay in work - attitudes like the ones you describe really p*ss me off, it's hard enough without having to contend with all that. If people would only realise that a bit more helpfulness and tolerance would get people into work/help them stay and then all the money that would go into paying for their benefits could go into say schools/NHS/etc etc. rant over - much sympathy for you.

yes liquidclocks - I wonder how many people who moan about things like the reasonable adjustments stuff and think equal ops is just a load of rubbish happen to also moan about the allegedly huge amounts of money you can get on disability benefits...

Yep - wonder if any of those people actually know what it's like to live on the 'huge' amount of money you get on disability benfit? Must be similar situation for people who can't get job because of discrimination as well - no reason why they can't work, just that ignorant racists won't employ them.

Hey liquidclocks ! I'm an OT too, well was until I had DS!

Hows recruitment in your area for band5's??? I'm struggling to even get short listed for any jobs that are coming up down in the far SW

how horrid, acnebride. Still, at least you are doing the recruiting, so you should be able to stick your oar in a bit.

Confront if you can! Its our public duty. I used to be scared to raise my voice, but I do now. Comes with increasing age.

You should say something and have, as someone said earlier, some stuff from equal opportunities to hand. You can't change peoples way of thinking but you can stop yourself being exposed to it. It will very certainly make these people think about what they say in future. You could actually report this as it offended you.

BTW. Your name change was fab

Ipod - we have virtually no band 5's advertised. I currently work in education - the discrimination thing extends to mums ime! Couldn't get a p/t hospital/community job. Dead mens shoes up here (south cumbria/north lancs area).