What did you just ask me?
An insider’s view on how far we still have to go to achieve truly professional standards.
Lately, I’ve spoken to a great deal of candidates, friends and acquaintances who’ve had an unacceptable experience with someone in a situation you would never dream of being faced with. Mostly, I hear of job interview cases; I am a Recruiter at HR Innovate.
Let’s talk about the Law just a little , I am by no means a lawyer or qualified to give legal advice but as far as I can see — our Cyprus law does not have one set legislation to protect candidates and employees from discrimination. Correct me if I’m wrong, but on our Web Portal of the Republic of Cyprus I can’t see any legislation to protect me from the awful questions that are thrown at us in interviews or even at the initial application stage. If you take a look, you can see there’s an Equality in Employment link, which I can’t tell if it’s an article or an extract from the actual legislation itself, however, it still doesn’t contain anything that’s actually being enforced. Equality in the sexes is what it outlines; which evidently isn’t the case in Cyprus either. Why? Because, culture. That’s why.
A discrimination lesson and some friendly advice: Unless I’m applying for a physical role do not ask me if I’m disabled, unless I’m applying to work with children or in healthcare why are you asking me if I have any criminal convictions? Unless I’ve matched with you on Tinder outside of a professional setting, please do not tell me I have beautiful eyes and ask me if I am single (keeping this part modest, there’s a long history of actions far worse than just a question.) Lastly, I see no reason why you would ever need to know what my sexual orientation is, excuse my bluntness however I’m sure that regardless of whether I’m straight or gay I’m equally as competent as long as my experience is in line with the role, which is what you should be asking me about. (I will go into a bit more detail on how to overcome these inappropriate questions shortly.)
I welcome anyone to show me a legal document that even remotely resembles the Equality Act 2010 or Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and please do not send me this link — it is not visible on any page aside from one, it appears as a paid ad would and it basically states what we already know to be the case, that discrimination is indeed, illegal in the EU.
Here are some ideas on how to approach and respond to these questions:
Are you married?
Way you could answer: I like to keep my professional and personal life separate.
What they could have asked: Do you have any commitments that could impact your ability to perform or your attendance?
Do you have any previous criminal convictions?
Way you could answer: Can I ask how this relates to the role?
What they could have asked: Do you know of any reasons why legally you may not be able to take this role?
Do you have any children or are you planning on becoming pregnant?
Way you could answer: Can I ask why you are asking?
(There isn’t really an answer that could save them, unless they’re asking because they provide child day care support as part of the employee benefits package.. then great! Answer away.)
What they could have asked: Do you have any commitments that could impact your ability to perform or your attendance? — By allowing you to openly inform the interviewer of what YOU believe may impact your performance, be it a newborn baby or 7 dogs, it gives you the freedom to dictate what you believe may influence your performance in the workplace (if anything) in an open manner, without any offensive intrusive questions.
What is your sexual orientation?
Way you could answer: I am not obliged to answer that question.
Is there a part of the candidate profile I didn’t read that states preferred sexual orientation?
Why do you ask?
What is yours?
What they could have asked: NOTHING. Under no circumstances do they need to know.
I hope this has been helpful and informative, we all need to know our rights and should never feel pressured into answering an intrusive question in a professional or otherwise setting. Remember, if you’ve been invited to a job interview it’s because the company needs you, they do not have the right to make you feel small in any way. Also, if anyone would like to share their story with us, we always have hot coffee and some form of snack here at HR Innovate.
HR Innovate is an equal opportunity Recruiting Agency and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We are committed to protecting your personal data.
