Discrimination - Political Correctness Gone Daft or Right?

The UK Government's Laws to prevent discrimination in the workplace and specifically at interview for jobs are causing a stir but according to Which? research bosses are still asking taboo questions. According to Which? research the most popular questions are 'Do you plan to start a family?', or 'What are your childcare arrangements?', and 'Are you married?'.

The fact is the law is there to ensure that employers do not use a person's race, sex, sexuality, religious or political views or if a candidate is a parent of a young family as part of their selection criteria. What employers are typically not aware of despite the abundance of literature and web information is that firms found guilty of discrimination in any of the categories face unlimited fines and compensation.

The Which? research found employers still commonly asking several discriminatory questions at interview, some phrased more innocuously as to disguise their intent. Professional bodies advise that candidates should politely refuse to answer any such questions.

When Did All This Happen?

The sweeping changes in Employment Law occurred in October 2006 and it made it illegal to discriminate against employees and potential employees on the grounds described above. Employers found the implementation of the laws both confusing and the subject of debate within the legal community itself. There seemed also a very marked shift toward en employee having the right to 'protect' himself or herself from poor performance by invoking the law in their favour under fairly tenuous circumstances.

I personally attended a lengthy tribunal in which discrimination was alleged and I can say from personal experience that the subject is exceptionally complex.

I can also say from personal experience that the UK has very often been the first port of call for North American firms setting up base in Europe - some believed that continental Labour Laws were too onerous. The shift now puts the UK into a similar league as the rest of Europe and there is no doubt that many North American firms have been more reticent to start up in Europe and the UK specifically since October 2006. European Labour Laws are very different to US ones in particular where 'Fire at Will' still pervades in employment.

Is This All a Bad Thing?

Let's be absolutely clear, discrimination is a bad thing and should be driven out of employers' thinking. Let's also be clear, discrimination is still alive and kicking in all walks of life and particularly in business. Age plays a huge part in the selection process - too many times I have heard the phrase 'He/she is too experienced for this role' or 'He/she lacks experience'. Many of my blog articles subtlety ask questions and the responses are indicative of a still biased view on what experience, qualifications and job requirements are and how they relate to ability.

At interview stage I have seen too many instances of interviewers making judgements based on CVs or shaping questions designed to find out information which negates the candidate's knowledge and skills which may be appropriate for the job. The issue also lies in recruiter screening. Many hide behind the 'Client's Tick Box' which may be biased and so they screen people out via CV or interview for the wrong reasons. Recruiters gain little credibility sending candidates they know do not conform and only cause delays in getting fees.

Talent vs Tick Box

'Tick Box' recruitment is a numbers game - fast candidate turnaround based on poorly drawn up selection criteria and high fees at stake. The faster the turnaround the better. Recruiters and HR play a strong part in this and the further the recruitment is done from the hiring executive or employer the easier for this to happen - so outsourcing generally is a poor option and outsourcing abroad is just plain negligent because the filtering process becomes driven by process only.

And, above all, recruiters are less likely to be considered viable long term if they send certain types of candidate forward. It becomes the ultimate screening point because the employer could naturally point a finger at the recruiter and legitimately say 'I never laid that down as criteria', while the recruiter could say, 'The employer said minimum 5 years experience required' or 'needs to be flexible on location or hours'.

Most Common Discrimination

Without doubt age, sex and race still lead the league table in my eyes. As a for instance, in times when there is heightened tension between Christians and Muslims (let's not forget we are directly at war with two Muslim countries and you cannot avoid the issue in the media) it is impossible to gauge the effect this has on employers, hiring managers and recruiters but I would suggest that it has a profound one. There is also no doubt that employers, when selecting new employees, are trying to find out the child care arrangements of parents and how that will affect their ability to do the job properly in their eyes. Finally, there is absolutely no doubt that employers are screening potential new candidates on age, whether too young or more likely too old. And there is no doubt that ageism is rife in the workplace, we can all cite experience of this.

What About Employers? Don't They Have Rights?

Has this all gone too far? What about an employee who exhibits unacceptable behaviour or poor performance and when questioned about it 'plays the race card'? Suddenly the person becomes 'protected species' within the workplace and the law overly protects people on some of the flimsiest of premises, making it incredibly difficult and expensive for employers to manage their business effectively.

What happens when a business hits bad times and cuts have to be made fast in order to survive? Unwieldy, protracted and almost self-defeating processes have to be invoked and suddenly survival for the rest of the employees because the cuts don;'t have the desired effect fast enough becomes a real threat.

The Quest for Talent

Personally, I see such poor techniques for recruitment in both hiring executives and recruiters that I have grave concerns that prejudices do play a huge part in the process. I think that employers do not spend enough time defining the talent they require for roles that will fundamentally affect their future profitability because they have preconceived ideas on what sort of people they want to employ in the main. They have a closed mind approach which defaults to 'Tick Box'. That suits the recruitment industry as it makes it simple to phrase adverts, search on keywords and it makes filtering at interview easy. It ensures numbers are kept high.

Meanwhile 40% of all executive recruits will fail within the first 18 months. Nobody knows fully what the figures below that point are but in the sales environment I see many firms use their 'quartile measurements' to continually isolate low performers and that usually is 20-40% of the sales staff underperforming at any time.

When you start thinking about how much those mistaken hires are costing the business in terms of lost opportunity cost and wasted money, it really does pay to emphasise skill, knowledge, leadership, innovation, creativity, and talent above things like knowing their sexual preferences, marital status, religious beliefs, political stance or date of birth. Talent rises above all those factors and is worth looking for.

Finally, Some Tips For Job Seekers

- Make your CV look professional - well laid out, everything spelt correctly, chronologically correct and your best achievements highlighted
- Make sure you can corroborate all you put in your CV - do not 'ham it up'
- Have references ready and briefed
- Be punctual for interviews
- Dress 'business ready' as if you want the job - first impressions and appearance count
- Do your research - make sure you know about the employer's business and read news about them
- Have your personal 'Value Proposition' rehearsed - make sure you are clear about what you can do for the Company
- Make impact - have your personal 'Value Statement or Elevator Pitch' ready and stated early
- Be confident and clear - don't mince your words, say them with confidence
- Attitude - walk into each interview as if a) you want the job and b) you can get it
- Reference your past - draw upon your knowledge and skills you have learnt at other jobs, courses or qualifications that directly augment your suitability for the job and help illustrate your answers to questions
- Don't waffle or tell stories - make any anecdotes short and keep to answering the question
- Ask questions - when you are invited to ask questions, have some well-thought ones prepared and even if they have been partly answered already, ask them again and for clarification
- If asked questions about your age, sex, sexuality, marital status, childcare arrangements, race, religion, political views politely decline to answer the question - if pushed simply state under law you do not have to answer such questions
- If you are at all worried that discrimination in the selection process has occurred ask for written clarification as to why you were not selected and you may also ask to have access to any and all interview notes taken. If you suspect discrimination has occurred from the answers and notes, seek professional guidance
- If you have independent assessments such as psychometric test results or a Professional Profile, make sure you take copies to leave with the interviewer
- Always ask 'How have I done?' and 'What are the next steps?' at the end of the interview
- If at the end of the interview you still want the job, tell them you do and why. Say how you 'feel' about the company and the job and re-state your 'Personal Value Proposition'
- Tell the interviewer what you thought of them - compliment them if you can
- Follow up the interview quickly with either a call or better still an email summarising your feelings, re-stating your enthusiasm and 'Personal Value Proposition' and again ask for next steps.


In the mass of candidates out there, it really is important to make sure you stand out. Calx Europe has eBooks and runs professional courses to help candidates get the jobs they want.

For more information please call 0207 193 2356 or write to info@calxeurope.com - today.