Sexuality

pepper

I just filled out a form for a job in Carphone Warehouse and one of the questions was "What is your sexuality"(im not kidding here) Are they allowed to ask that and If so whats it got to do with the job?

Kinetic^

Eh negative.....they are not allowed

um7y1h83ge06nx

That sounds very weird, and potentially a little dodgy for them.

C_Breeze

As in Male or Female? Or as in Gay or straight??

ixoy

I didn't think they were allowed ask that or, if they are, you're certainly not obliged to answer it unless they want to get themselves in a spot of deserved trouble.

How Strange

If they have sexuality then thats def illegal. They are not to allowed to ask any questions with regards to your personal life - sexuality, marital status, children etc.

pepper

C_Breeze wrote: »

As in Male or Female? Or as in Gay or straight??

as in gay/straight they had a drop down list that included "gay man- bi man- straight man etc- i mean what ON EARTH has it got to do with anything-also it was in the "disability" section of the form

Vokes

Whats the link for it ?

pepper

http://gs19.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_carphonewarehouse02.asp?newms=jj&id=34274&aid=10530

follow this and at the end they ask u the question (in the disability part of it) i dont think thats legal at all

Alun

That's crazy, not to mention illegal ... report them, end of story!

ixoy

pepper wrote: »

http://gs19.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_carphonewarehouse02.asp?newms=jj&id=34274&aid=10530

follow this and at the end they ask u the question (in the disability part of it) i dont think thats legal at all

You have to register - can you provide a screenshot? This is worth reporting I believe - completely out of line.

Beruthiel

Totally out of line, none of their business and do not answer it.
Also, report them.

pepper

can someone copy the page and show it up on screen(iv no idea how to do it) cos im on the page but when i copy the link it goes to the main page so i dont have a direct link to the question ya hve to go through the forms

its the last q btw all it says is "Generic equal ops dropdown 2" then the dropdown list of the sexualities

pepper

ixoy wrote: »

You have to register - can you provide a screenshot? This is worth reporting I believe - completely out of line.

how do i do it and ill try it

Vokes

'Prnt Scrn' button and then paste into MS Paint or Word.

pepper

SofaKing wrote: »

'Prnt Scrn' button and then paste into MS Paint or Word.

iv no MS paint on my comp no idea wer it went i took a vid n pic on my phone stikn it up now quality sticks and a few lines on the pic but u can stilsee it tho had to put it to 400% of the drop down menu hope ye can see it

thinkn of going in to the carphone warehouse and asking them about it

super_furry

Here it is....

pepper

super_furry wrote: »

Here it is....

thanks super furry xxx:D

smcelhinney

you guys are far better at copy and paste than I am : )

Thats absolutely ridculous? That's unreal? Please please please tell me someone has reported this?

pepper

smcelhinney wrote: »

you guys are far better at copy and paste than I am : )

Thats absolutely ridculous? That's unreal? Please please please tell me someone has reported this?

if i knew who to report it to i would:D

ixoy

Ring up the Equality Authority on 1890-245545 and explain the job application to them.
It should be governed under the Employment Equality Acts of 1998 and 2004 but having them behind you would lend a lot of weight.

pepper

ixoy wrote: »

Ring up the Equality Authority on 1890-245545 and explain the job application to them.
It should be governed under the Employment Equality Acts of 1998 and 2004 but having them behind you would lend a lot of weight.

im on it

pepper

ixoy wrote: »

Ring up the Equality Authority on 1890-245545 and explain the job application to them.
It should be governed under the Employment Equality Acts of 1998 and 2004 but having them behind you would lend a lot of weight.

just called them


they said cos carephone warehouse are an english company that there could be reason why they ask that question and that its not illegal to ask that question

Beruthiel

pepper wrote: »

there could be reason why they ask that question and that its not illegal to ask that question

That cannot be true surely!
Click the option 'other' then.

Alun

pepper wrote: »

they said cos carphone warehouse are an english company that there could be reason why they ask that question and that its not illegal to ask that question

I doubt it very much .. the regulations concerning that kind of thing are pretty much the same in the UK as they are here AFAIK. Anyway, they're recruiting for a post here in Ireland, so I assume they have to abide by Irish law in this regard, don't they?

pepper

Alun wrote: »

I doubt it very much .. the regulations concerning that kind of thing are pretty much the same in the UK as they are here AFAIK. Anyway, they're recruiting for a post here in Ireland, so I assume they have to abide by Irish law in this regard, don't they?

well the woman on the phone was a lil rude and seemed to be trying to get me off the phone , she said i could

(A) Call carphone warehouse and complian

(b)go on their website and check the laws on this

(c) she would send me some pamplets

ixoy

Beruthiel wrote: »

That cannot be true surely!
Click the option 'other' then.

I don't believe that the job itself would allow the answer to that question to alter their opinion (from the Equality Authority FAQ):

* difference in treatment is allowed which is based on a characteristic related to any of the nine grounds in respect of access to employment but only to the extent that the characteristic constitutes a genuine and determining occupational requirement and the objective is legitimate and the requirement proportionate

There's no reason for them to ask it and you should be allowed to not answer it. If they're asking it, they'll probably try and claim that it can be used to show they accept applications from all potential employees equally.

BuffyBot

It depends - are the asking it for purely statistical purposes? If so, and it has no impact on your actual application then yes they may be allowed to do so. Application forms normally make this clear however and that the details are recorded seperately from the applicants.

Running Bing

I always thought they were allowed to ask the question but you were not obliged to answer and they could not discrimminate on the basis of your answer.


Could be just to get a profile of prospective candidates.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

the_syco

daveirl wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Agreed. It's not listing it as a disability. It's asking if you have one, plus other questions. You can also "prefer not to say", if you wish, for the sexuality question. It's to show, believe it or not, that they are not discriminating against people.

gazzer

The question isnt part of the job application though is it??? Its just info they want for statistical purposes I would imagine.. Any time I have done an aptitude test for the Civil Service there is a questionaire they ask you to fill out and one of the questions asked is about your sexuality...

Kobie

'Statistical proposes' is not a valid reason for asking these questions. If that was the case, anybody could ask whatever they wanted & use that as an excuse. Making it optional doesn't cut it either as refusing to answer might mean you've something to hide, no?

Even the disability question is illegal. Also note that question is compulsory. According to the Data Protection Act it's illegal for them to to collect any information that is not essential to their purposes. They can't store details about your sexuality, religion, or even your favourite colour unless it's absolutely essential. And the disability question leaves them open to accusations of discrimination. I.e. if they're an equal ops employer, then they don't technically need to know you're disabled until you've been offered the job.

And being an English company doesn't protect them. They operate over here and that ad would have been placed by the Irish division.

K.

MonsieurD

This is unbelievable. Pepper, send this to Joe Duffy or Gerry Ryan. I can't believe how they could ever justify this question.

RainyDay

Babybing wrote: »

I always thought they were allowed to ask the question but you were not obliged to answer and they could not discriminate on the basis of your answer.


Could be just to get a profile of prospective candidates.

Correct. While this practice is unusual (and specifically exposes the company to claims of discrimination based on the information supplied), there is nothing illegal about it. It would certainly not be best practice in Ireland, though there maybe some UK legislation of practices which encourage them to record details for diversity management reasons.

However, I'm a bit surprised at the 'light' response of the Equality Authority. You might want to put the query to them by email and see if they are just as light when dealing with a written query.

BC

Babybing wrote: »

I always thought they were allowed to ask the question but you were not obliged to answer and they could not discrimminate on the basis of your answer.

I did a few interview training courses although it was a while ago, and i'm fairly sure this is the case. They can ask whatever they want as long as they don't discriminate based on the answer. Most companies don't risk it and so don't ask. You don't have to answer if they do ask.

Pyjamarama

BC wrote: »

I did a few interview training courses although it was a while ago, and i'm fairly sure this is the case. They can ask whatever they want as long as they don't discriminate based on the answer. Most companies don't risk it and so don't ask. You don't have to answer if they do ask.

When I did a medical for a job in an insurance company the following questions were included, side by side:

Are you a homosexual male?
Are you an intravenous drug user?

The only options were yes and no and they were compulsary questions. Is this legal? I regret never looking into in more.

pickarooney

There's a 'prefer not to say' option for those who don't feel inclined to contribute to the statistical analysis. No big deal.