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Protected grounds

  • 07-04-2024 6:49pm
    #1
    Jambonjunior
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 301 ✭✭


    I understand in an interview an employer shouldn't ask about marital status, children, where someone lives.

    But, does that also apply to the workspace? It is suggested that an employer shouldn't ask about future plans for children? Or martial status?



Comments

  • #2
    xalot
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,096 ✭✭✭xalot


    I think context is key here, someone you work with asking about you / your life is ok. You're under no obligation to reveal anything you dont want to.

    It's only an issue if you could be discriminated against on the protected ground, i.e. not be offered a job, not be offered promotion / training / working conditions / anything else that someone without the protected ground would get.



  • #3
    28064212
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭28064212


    The reason it is suggested not to ask those questions is for the protection of the employer. If an employer asks "are you married?" in an interview, and the interviewee subsequently isn't hired, the employer is risking the interviewee claiming they weren't hired because of their marital status. If the employer doesn't ask the question, it's a very simple defence - they didn't know their marital status, so how could they be discriminating on it?

    Some companies go completely the other way: they'll make sure to ask every interviewee about a variety of protected characteristics, and fomally record the answers. The intent is that if they are sued for discrimination, they can use those answers to say "look, we regularly hire married people, and we can prove that we knew they were married when we hired them".

    Bottom line: if you, as an employer, plan to ask a question relating to a protected characteristic, you better be able to prove (in a court of law) you had a damn good reason for asking it and that you did not treat the person any differently as a result of their answer. If you can't do that, keep your mouth shut.

    PS: "where someone lives" is not a protected characteristic

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  • #4
    griffin100
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,034 ✭✭✭griffin100


    An employer can ask you anything they want in an interview or after that. However they would be unwise to do so as they can’t discriminate or make decisions about your employment under the protected grounds so if they are not going to use the information they ask you for to discriminate against you, then there’s no need to ask in the first place (if that makes sense). These sorts of questions can leave them open to claims of discrimination.

    BTW where you live is not a protected status. Employers can and do make decisions about hiring based on where you live. Some Local Authority jobs for example require you to live within a reasonable distance of your working location.



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