When conducting job interviews, it's important to give all applicants an equal chance of getting the job.
Under UK law, employers generally cannot ask about 'protected characteristics' in a job interview, as this could lead to discrimination.
What are protected characteristics?
Here are some examples of protected characteristics:
Questions not to ask in a job interview
Legally, an employer can only ask a prospective employee about protected characteristics if it's part of a positive action to help people with a particular characteristic (for example, an initiative to hire more LGBT workers). In most other cases, it's illegal to ask an interviewee questions like...
These are just a few examples - generally speaking, any question that pertains to protected characteristics is off-limits. It's illegal to make a hiring decision based on age, gender, ethnicity and other such characteristics, so you shouldn't be asking about these things in a job interview!
A surprising number of interviewers don't know this!
We at Hyper Recruitment Solutions conducted an online survey of over 2,000 hiring managers and other people who have been involved in interviewing candidates for their companies.
Some of our findings were truly startling!
Many interviewers admitted to asking inappropriate questions.
And some thought that inappropriate or even illegal questions/ statements were perfectly acceptable!
Other interesting findings:
Nearly half of interviewers (47%) said they had never received official training on what illegal / inappropriate interview questions.
42% of male interviewers think it's acceptable to ask candidates if they're planning on taking maternity/paternity leave. Just 24% of female interviewers said it was acceptable.
Ricky Martin BSc (Hons) FIRP CertRP MRSC"It's pretty shocking to unearth that such illegal practices are happening every day in the hiring process. It is imperative for British bosses to be educated on workplace practice in order to put a stop to such shocking and illegal interview practices, which lead to unprecedented inequality.
It's also really important for a light to be shone on what is and isn't acceptable in the recruitment process to give prospective employees the best possible chance of success at the interview stage.
This research isn't about suggesting the recruitment process should be made easier for interviewees, but ensuring all prospective employees are given a fair, legal and honest opportunity to secure a job based on their skills and ability - and not their gender, personal choices or maternity/paternity choices!"
Managing Director, Hyper Recruitment Solutions
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