Inappropriate interview questions

TEDDYBEAR90 · 26-02-2008 8:26pm #1

Hello Everyone,

I am interested to hear peoples opinions on this one. I had an interview last week and apart from the general patronising style of the interviewer,I was appauled at one of the questions I was asked.
I was asked if I was still living at home i.e in the family home.
I dont see the relevance of this question to my skills or to the position I had applied for.

I think it was just the interviewer being nosey.
Is it legal to ask such personal questions?

MIN2511 · 26-02-2008 8:29pm

Wow, was that part of the interview or was he/she trying to make conversation?

TEDDYBEAR90 · 26-02-2008 8:33pm

It was towards the end of the interview. After he had patronised me by telling me that the salary he was offering was good "for you".
It was the most degrading interview i have ever had in my entire life.

paul666 · 26-02-2008 8:44pm

how could it be illegal to ask something like that? It may of been a strange question for you, but I'm pretty sure he didnt break the law by asking you this question.

Would age and maturity have a factor to do with this question?
Perhaps he asked it because of this.

In my opinion o.p i dont think the question he asked you was inappropriate

McGrath-is-god · 26-02-2008 9:02pm

By any chance was this interview for an Irish stock-broking company? I had an interview 2 weeks ago and was asked questions about my family members' occupations. Aspersions were also cast on the fact that i return home at the weekends from uni to work.

Coffea · 26-02-2008 9:16pm

I've heard of so many employers using the fact that their employees live with their parents as a justification for paying them less than the going rate. I'd imagine that's why the interviewer raised the issue.

Whatever the reason behind the question, I wouldn't accept a job from a company that treats prospective employees with such an unprofessional attitude. I don't know for sure, but at a guess I'd say employers aren't allowed to ask about your personal life in that amount of detail.

TEDDYBEAR90 · 26-02-2008 9:36pm

paul666 wrote: »

how could it be illegal to ask something like that? It may of been a strange question for you, but I'm pretty sure he didnt break the law by asking you this question.

Would age and maturity have a factor to do with this question?
Perhaps he asked it because of this.

Well he was in his forties so i guess he was kind of old

MIN2511 · 26-02-2008 9:39pm

TEDDYBEAR90 wrote: »

Well he was in his forties so i guess he was kind of old

I think paul666 meant your age!

Regardless of age i don't think the question was necessary

TEDDYBEAR90 · 26-02-2008 9:40pm

McGrath-is-god wrote: »

By any chance was this interview for an Irish stock-broking company? I had an interview 2 weeks ago and was asked questions about my family members' occupations. Aspersions were also cast on the fact that i return home at the weekends from uni to work.

:eek: your interview sounds worse than mine. No it wasnt for a Stock- broking company. I'd prefer not to name and shame the company.

Jet Black · 26-02-2008 9:56pm

They cant ask any personal questions. Its discrimination.
Like your martial status, any kids, do you smoke or drink, religion or even age.
Basically any question not relating to the job.
Like how is if you live at home going to affect how you do your job?
HR department's seem to be independent of the company sometimes.
In the company I work for the HR dept secretly refers its current staff to other companies and recrutment agencys to get a bonus! Complete joke but thats how it works??

SoupyNorman · 26-02-2008 9:59pm

Not a very professional question at all.

I can see what information the interviewer was trying to exsponge but a good interviewer
can do that effortlessly.

Your interviewer sounded like an a$$.

So,

Do you live at home?!?!

MIN2511 · 26-02-2008 10:01pm

heymcflyx wrote: »

Like how is if you live at home going to affect how you do your job?
HR department's seem to be independent of the company sometimes.
In the company I work for the HR dept secretly refers its current staff to other companies and recrutment agencys to get a bonus! Complete joke but thats how it works??

Are you serious? That's unbelievable!!! How can they do that? It's amazing the length people would go to make a quick buck

Glowing · 26-02-2008 10:37pm

I hope that if he offers the job, you tell him to shove it. Better still, lodge a formal complaint with the company, then tell him to shove it.

mastermind2005 · 26-02-2008 10:46pm

The reason i believe he asked that question was based on the fact that people who live at home are less likly to be totally dependant on their job and in toe not take it as seriously / work there long....

Coffea · 26-02-2008 11:02pm

mastermind2005 wrote: »

The reason i believe he asked that question was based on the fact that people who live at home are less likly to be totally dependant on their job and in toe not take it as seriously / work there long....

People who live at home don't take their job seriously? That's a BIG generalisation!

People who live at home still have commitments e.g. car loans to re-pay.. education loans, travel loans etc. They can't just walk away from these.

Any of my friends who live at home pay rent and in some cases they are financially supporting their parents and other family members, or they may have their own kids to support. Living at home and work ethic are totally unconnected.

BC · 27-02-2008 8:40am

heymcflyx wrote: »

They cant ask any personal questions. Its discrimination.
Like your martial status, any kids, do you smoke or drink, religion or even age.
Basically any question not relating to the job.
Like how is if you live at home going to affect how you do your job?
HR department's seem to be independent of the company sometimes.
In the company I work for the HR dept secretly refers its current staff to other companies and recrutment agencys to get a bonus! Complete joke but thats how it works??

They can ask anything they want.
They cannot discriminate on 9 specific grounds based on the answers you give. Most sensible employers will not ask the question because its then difficult to prove they didn't discrimate. Personal issues such as do you live at home are not covered under the 9 grounds. So its not illegal to discrimate because someone lives at home, smokes or drinks. The legislation doesn't cover this.

Incidentaly - the OP asked if the question was inappropriate not if it was illegal. OP - I wouldn't worry about it too much, sounds like you wouldn't want to work for these type of people anyway. At least you found that out in the interview!

ianhobo · 27-02-2008 9:05am

BC wrote: »

They can ask anything they want.

So, what your saying is that they can ask:
1. Are you homosexual?
2. Are a follower of religion xxx?
3. What will you spend your salary on?

I would have to say you are wrong, they cannot ask anything they choose
Here' some reading to back it up

Interview with The Office of the Director of Equality Investigations

An recruiters guide to interviews

Monster recruitment also speak of illegal interview questions

watna · 27-02-2008 9:29am

Employers can't discriminate on the basis of those 9 things, therefore good recruiters/interviewers never ask any questions relating to these as if the candidate doesn't get the job they can claim that it's because they were discriminated against, even if this is not the case. That's why you avoid the questions like the plague.

It's not illegal to ask them, it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of them. However, asking them is as good as opening yourself up for legal action. The onus is on the company to prove they didn'y discriminate. "living at home with your parents" is not one othe 9 reasons you can be discriminated against.

As said above, the question was inappropriate, not illegal. OP, I would just say write it off, the company are obviously very unproffesional and you wouldn't want to work there.

BC · 27-02-2008 2:12pm

ianhobo wrote: »

So, what your saying is that they can ask:
1. Are you homosexual?
2. Are a follower of religion xxx?
3. What will you spend your salary on?

I would have to say you are wrong, they cannot ask anything they choose
Here' some reading to back it up

I'm probably being pedantic here but once again it is not the asking of those questions that is illegal, it is the fact that the answer is more than likely being used to discrimate against the candidate. The employee would be able to take issue with that as i can't think of any situation where the employer could prove they need to know the answer in order to find a suitable candidate.

It is up to the inteviewer to ensure they are asking relevant questions in an appropriate manner. e.g. asking 'are you Irish' might get you into hot water on the grounds of race, but asking 'Do you have a visa to work in this country' is perfectly acceptable as the employer is entitled to know that.

Sam Vimes · 27-02-2008 4:20pm

ianhobo wrote: »

So, what your saying is that they can ask:
1. Are you homosexual?
2. Are a follower of religion xxx?
3. What will you spend your salary on?

I would have to say you are wrong, they cannot ask anything they choose
Here' some reading to back it up

Interview with The Office of the Director of Equality Investigations

An recruiters guide to interviews

Monster recruitment also speak of illegal interview questions

they can't ask you if you're a homosexual and they can't ask you what your religion is but they can ask you what you'll spend your salary on. as people have said, there are 9 things that they can't ask you

seamus · 27-02-2008 4:36pm

Sam Vimes wrote: »

they can't ask you if you're a homosexual and they can't ask you what your religion is but they can ask you what you'll spend your salary on. as people have said, there are 9 things that they can't ask you

BC's point is that it is perfectly legal for a potential employer to ask questions in the interview relating to sexuality, religion, age, race, and so on. The interviewee can of course refuse to answer these questions. In the event that the interviewee doesn't get the job, they could very easily bring a discrimination case against the employer as it would be reasonable to assume that the employer didn't hire the person because they didn't like the answers to these questions. Which would be discrimination.

So while it's not illegal for an employer to ask the questions, it would be a ridiculously stupid thing to do.

In the OP's case, it's not necessarily a stupid question or even a bad one. Particularly if the OP is younger, perhaps the interviewer was trying to build repore. It's also likely that he was trying to gauge the OP's likelihood of upping and leaving in six months' time.

Someone living at home would be more likely to head off around the world travelling, or go buy/rent a place miles away which would need them to move job or change working hours and so forth. If the employer is looking for a stable employee who's not likely to leave soon after starting, then it's a valid question.

Sam Vimes · 27-02-2008 4:47pm

well i know that but i didn't feel like writing a post as long as yours

of course saying something can't possibly be illegal but making a decision based on the answer is illegal so there's no point in asking

watna · 27-02-2008 4:58pm

Sam Vimes wrote: »

well i know that but i didn't feel like writing a post as long as yours

of course saying something can't possibly be illegal but making a decision based on the answer is illegal so there's no point in asking

As stupid as it sounds, that's basically how it works. The result is the same I suppose. You can't ask them as you open yourself up to all sorts of trouble! It's kind of warped logic really!

x in the city · 27-02-2008 5:52pm

OP you should tell em you are renting out a 5 star hotel until the right job pops up.

why not also question their sexuality while at it.....:rolleyes:

TEDDYBEAR90 · 27-02-2008 8:11pm

So the general consensus is that it is more of an inappropriate question than an illegal question? . Thanks for all the feedback.

MIN2511 · 27-02-2008 8:24pm

TEDDYBEAR90 wrote: »

So the general consensus is that it is more of an inappropriate question than an illegal question? . Thanks for all the feedback.

Inappropriate but legal!

AARRRGH · 27-02-2008 8:49pm

It's definitely not illegal to ask are you living with your folks.

Interviewing people is actually fairly hard, so I'd say it was just the inexperienced interviewer trying to prevent uncomfortable silence

hunnymonster · 28-02-2008 10:59am

What are the 9 specific areas you cannot discriminate on?

seamus · 28-02-2008 11:11am

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/equality-in-work/equality_authority/?searchterm=discrimination

* gender
* marital status
* family status
* sexual orientation
* religion
* age (does not apply to a person under 16)
* disability
* race
* membership of the Traveller community.

r3nu4l · 28-02-2008 11:11am

BC wrote: »

It is up to the inteviewer to ensure they are asking relevant questions in an appropriate manner. e.g. asking 'are you Irish' might get you into hot water on the grounds of race, but asking 'Do you have a visa to work in this country' is perfectly acceptable as the employer is entitled to know that.

Interestingly, in the UK most companies ask you to fill in a form identifying your racial background. It's not compulsory but most companies ask you to do so. In a bizarre way, this can actually help people from minority populations to get jobs, "positive discrimination" is the term for it.

Most companies have to be seen to have a multi-cultural and diverse range of staff. As an Irish person I am a "minority" and this actually acts as a feather in my cap on top of my education, experience and skills

As to the OP's question, inappropriate yes, illegal no. It's also a very stupid question to ask as the OP could claim he has been discriminated against if he's not offered the job. There are better ways of getting such information

hunnymonster · 28-02-2008 11:15am

thanks Seamus,

R. I know what you mean, when I worked for the EU as a scientist I was useful in that I ticked 3 under represented boxes (female, under 25 and Irish). I honestly think that's why I got the job because I had absolutely no relevant experience.

watna · 28-02-2008 11:17am

r3nu4l wrote: »

Interestingly, in the UK most companies ask you to fill in a form identifying your racial background. It's not compulsory but most companies ask you to do so. In a bizarre way, this can actually help people from minority populations to get jobs, "positive discrimination" is the term for it.

Most companies have to be seen to have a multi-cultural and diverse range of staff. As an Irish person I am a "minority" and this actually acts as a feather in my cap on top of my education, experience and skills

As to the OP's question, inappropriate yes, illegal no. It's also a very stupid question to ask as the OP could claim he has been discriminated against if he's not offered the job. There are better ways of getting such information

Yeah, up north when you apply for jobs they ask you are you a member of the protestant community of the catholic community or netiher. My friend moved up there to be with your bf and there was no way she was answering that questions. She ticked neither. She ended up working in recruitment (in-house for a big company) up there and I asked her did they positiviely discriminate, she said no but they liked to have religious info to do odd checks to see were they weighted in favour of one religion. It's crazy!

IncredibleHulk · 28-02-2008 4:11pm

What would happen if the applicant said they did not wish to answer a personal question? Is the applicant allowed to not answer?

AARRRGH · 28-02-2008 4:22pm

IncredibleHulk wrote: »

What would happen if the applicant said they did not wish to answer a personal question? Is the applicant allowed to not answer?

I think they probably wouldn't get the job!

IncredibleHulk · 28-02-2008 4:32pm

dublindude wrote: »

I think they probably wouldn't get the job!

even if they genuinely felt it was an intrusive question

seamus · 28-02-2008 4:58pm

IncredibleHulk wrote: »

What would happen if the applicant said they did not wish to answer a personal question? Is the applicant allowed to not answer?

Of course. Nobody's holding a gun to your head. You're entitled to refuse to answer any question asked in an interview, personal or otherwise.

IncredibleHulk · 28-02-2008 5:12pm

seamus wrote: »

Of course. Nobody's holding a gun to your head. You're entitled to refuse to answer any question asked in an interview, personal or otherwise.

What would be the best way to refuse while still being polite and hopefully not lose out on the job because of refusing" I respectfully refuse..." or " I would prefer not to answer that for personal reasons..." or ...??EDIT Answered in post 17 link. Sorry

seamus · 28-02-2008 5:27pm

Depends on the question. IMO, if you're in a situation where they ask you a question that you don't feel comfortable answering, then stand up, thank them for their time but say that you don't think you'll fit in there, and leave.

You should never be asked anything in an interview that you would have a reason to not answer.

IncredibleHulk · 28-02-2008 5:28pm

A friend of mine went to an interview and was asked what would be his reaction if a lady called in who was distressed and he happened to answer the phone which was not his job.

see http://www.doi.gov/hrm/pmanager/st13c3.html

Chinafoot · 28-02-2008 7:17pm

TEDDYBEAR90 wrote: »

Well he was in his forties so i guess he was kind of old

Ok, without any disrespect whatsoever, if you think someone in their forties is "kind of old" I'm going to assume that you are fairly young. You were also asked at the end of the interview if you were still living at home so it is possible that the interviewer was making small talk.

Also, saying the salary is good "for you"...are you long out of school? Perhaps he meant that the wage is good for a starting position or depending on what experience you have.

To me, it sounds like you're being a little over-sensitive.

Mrs OBumble · 29-02-2008 12:05am

TEDDYBEAR90 wrote: »

So the general consensus is that it is more of an inappropriate question than an illegal question? . Thanks for all the feedback.

I'd say irrelevant, rather than inappropriate. Certainly not illegal.

Except that if the answer indicated that you are a member of Traveller community, then it would be illegal to discriminate based on the answer - and as others have said, it could be difficult for the company to prove that they didn't.

If you are like many young job applicants, your interview performance probably wasn't great, and the interviewer was simply trying to draw you out a bit, perhaps to check out your interpersonal communication skills and general maturity.

TEDDYBEAR90 · 29-02-2008 6:42pm

Chinafoot wrote: »

Ok, without any disrespect whatsoever, if you think someone in their forties is "kind of old" I'm going to assume that you are fairly young. You were also asked at the end of the interview if you were still living at home so it is possible that the interviewer was making small talk.

Also, saying the salary is good "for you"...are you long out of school? Perhaps he meant that the wage is good for a starting position or depending on what experience you have.

To me, it sounds like you're being a little over-sensitive.[/quote]

Not really, i felt uncomfortable with the question.i was merely wondering as to the relevance of this with regard to my skills.
and I think judgements were being made about me on the basis of my
answer

SerialComplaint · 01-03-2008 9:07am

dublindude wrote: »

I think they probably wouldn't get the job!

I did an interview years ago with a large US hi-tech multinational, where the interviewer asked me towards the end if I had kids. I pleasantly told him that it wasn't a great idea to ask such questions and explained why. He came back with 'Well I can ask anything I want, but you don't have to answer' (which was technically correct). I got the job, and about 2 years later, the interviewer in question was moved from his business role to a position in HR in charge of all recruitment.

Inappropriate interview questions

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