employment law - can they ask this?

[yogabird]

Would love your opinion on the legalities of asking about childcare matters and time off for children being ill in an interview

this happened to a friend of mine yesterday and she was passed over for a young single bloke with far less experience than her

what do you think girls?

They shouldn't - however as long as they asked every candidate this (including single men/single women), techinically they are not stepping outside of the law. However in practice they probably didn't.
The only way your friend can prove it however is by filing a sex discrimination claim.
It makes me when this happens

sorry - should say technically

it was for a post internally so that might make life a bit difficult, i'll refer her to this thread

Years ago I went for an interview as a legal executive and was asked in the interview about my childcare arrangements. Then, to cap it all, they actually sent me a rejection letter saying that I had been unsuccessful because of my "family circumstances".

I contacted the Equal Opportunities Commission and filled in the form which Bellie mentions. Obviously I had a pretty good case as I actually had their admission in writing that they hadn't employed me because I had children (somewhat unbelievably given that this was a firm of solicitors!)

Anyway it didn't get as far as a tribunal because they offered me a payment to settle which I accepted.

It's obviously difficult for your friend if she is already employed there because she may not want to rock the boat but the EOC would advise her if she decided she wanted to do something about it.

was it HR or a manager that asked her?
If HR were not involved she may want to approach her HR department first

It was the head and Hr interviwed me after - no mention of home situation just professional questions.

As far as I know they have no right whatsoever to ask you any "personal" questions, and you can actually refuse to answer the question/s, although that is probably not going to make you look that great either depending on how you don't answer the question. None of your beeswax matey might not go down so well .

They have to assume that if you are applying for this job then it is because you can do it. The interview is there for them to find out which person has the most experience and would suit the job best (of the applicants).

They can ask what they want, whether they should is a different matter. It would also be difficult to prove that you had not got an offer due to something related to childcare.

If asked about ages of children or similarly related questions a suggested answer would be

"to be quite honest I am rather reluctant to answer that question" and when asked why

"Well, you will put me in a 'box' as its a well known fact that women with young children are the most discriminated group within the workplace".

You could also go on to say that it bears no relevance to the ability to do the job. They will either respect you for being assertive or not give you the job, probably wouldn't have done anyway if they are asking you that sort of thing in the first place!

Otherwise you just lie (or tell the truth)and say you have never taken any time off for a sick child as you have a good network of carers (partner/grannys etc) that you can call on in an emergency.

It is a discriminating question and they are not allowed to ask it:

"Illegal Questions

By law, during an interview an interviewer is not allowed to ask you certain types of questions. These questions usually are about your age, disability, marital status, race, national origin, religion, personal finances, family situation, political affiliation, sexual preference, ethnicity, and arrest record. However, you may still hear some of the questions in your interview. You have a legal right not to answer these questions."

from www.interviewpal.com/ivknowledge/illegalq.htm