Equal opportunity forms, do you complete them honestly?

LegacyUser

I can't set up a poll because I'm posting anonymously but here is my question- if you have been in the position where you have had to fill in an 'equal opportunitys' form did you tell the truth about your sexual preference? Would you if presented with such a form fill it in honestly? I have had to fill in such forms when applying for jobs and have stopped ticking the gay option. Data protection is a hot topic at the moment, I think the less information in the h.r. database concerning your personal details the better, also in my opinion this information is surplus to requirement.

L.Jenkins

Don't think I've ever filled in a form which asked has ever asked me if I were gay, straight or bi.

wonderfulname

Where do you live? I've only heard of these in the UK. I disagree with them in principle, I don't think equal opportunities is about monitoring employee statistics, quite the opposite in fact.

Were it me I would ask how much of the form is compulsory before filling it out, I wouldn't lie though.

floggg

I've never heard of anybody being asked their sexual orientation in an interview and I think it would be foolish of an employer to do so. It would potentially open them up to all sorts of discrimination claims.

Annasopra

They have them on application forms in the UK and consequently Northern Ireland - I am nearly sure that they are not compulsory and that you can choose not to fill them in. I have filled them out honestly before but it generally depends on the job or company. If the company or job is very corporate or private sector I generally wouldn't fill them out.

DubArk

I have worked on numerous jobs both here and the UK and have yet to lay eyes on such a form. As well I’m an Auditor and have audited many HR departments, yet again never seen such a question?!
I think it’s an inappropriate question to ask. I can see why companies that want to engage in Diversity or what we refer today as Inclusion might think its ok. In reality, as already stated, who has access to such sensitive information?
I wouldn’t fill that question in.

mikemac1

These forms are a big thing in Northern Ireland but I've never seen this question

You sure you are remembering it correctly OP?

Very possible they asked your religion but I can't believe there was a gay option as you say.

theginsandwich

I got asked it when applying for a job in the NHS, as well as my race and religion. They stress that it's just to keep a record on diversity in the workplace, and you have the option of saying you'd rather not disclose it. I'm not sure if those deciding who gets the job even see that part of the online application form. Despite being a bit taken aback, I answered it honestly.

dreamer_ire

Common practice in NI and becoming more so in GB following the introduction of the Equality Act. Filling them in is, as far as I know, compulsory for your application to be considered however they always offer a "prefer not to say option". As a resident of NI I'm well used to them and always fill them in accurately. In my book it gives you protection as if you really believe you've been discriminated against in a selection process, you can easily argue that the organisation knew you to be from a minority grouping, be it sexual orientation, religion, race, political opinion etc etc.

LegacyUser

O.P. again. Yes I'm based in the U.K. at the moment. I've filled in about 4 of these forms so far. I remember on one occasion in order to complete an online application I had to fill in the form, I don't think it had the sexual orientation question but it definitely had ethnic origin. Whether compulsory or not these forms must be against EU human rights directives? In future I will ignore these parts if possible instead of filling in any information. I would have thought 'dreamer_ire' that it's the reverse that if you try to take a case against them by stating that you weren't hired because you were from a certain group they can say, actually we were aware of that and we made sure our selection process was fair given the availability of that information.

Annasopra

trainspotting9 wrote: »

O.P. again. Yes I'm based in the U.K. at the moment. I've filled in about 4 of these forms so far. I remember on one occasion in order to complete an online application I had to fill in the form, I don't think it had the sexual orientation question but it definitely had ethnic origin. Whether compulsory or not these forms must be against EU human rights directives? In future I will ignore these parts if possible instead of filling in any information. I would have thought 'dreamer_ire' that it's the reverse that if you try to take a case against them by stating that you weren't hired because you were from a certain group they can say, actually we were aware of that and we made sure our selection process was fair given the availability of that information.

It's common practice in the UK

I'm not really sure how they could be against human rights directives?

Sonics2k

trainspotting9 wrote: »

O.P. again. Yes I'm based in the U.K. at the moment. I've filled in about 4 of these forms so far. I remember on one occasion in order to complete an online application I had to fill in the form, I don't think it had the sexual orientation question but it definitely had ethnic origin. Whether compulsory or not these forms must be against EU human rights directives? In future I will ignore these parts if possible instead of filling in any information. I would have thought 'dreamer_ire' that it's the reverse that if you try to take a case against them by stating that you weren't hired because you were from a certain group they can say, actually we were aware of that and we made sure our selection process was fair given the availability of that information.

I'm 99% sure they take down that kind of information for statistical reasons mostly.

With that said, I'm also fairly sure you can leave it blank if needs be.