Illegal questions

To protect applicants against discriminatory recruitment practices, some questions are unlawful in an interview situation. Here are some of the areas which are covered by the law.

It is unlawful for you to be asked to affix a photograph of yourself to the application form at any time before you are given the job.

It is unlawful for you to be asked what citizenship you hold, whether you are a native born or naturalised citizen and the date on which you acquired your citizenship. It is unlawful for you to be asked your national origin, birthplace, parentage, descent, lineage, or ancestry or those of your parents, spouse or other close relatives. But it is legal for you to be asked whether you are legally entitled to work in the UK.

It is unlawful for you to be asked about your marital status.

It is unlawful for you to be asked the names, ages, number, addresses, or other information concerning your children or other relatives not employed by the organisation. But it is legal for you to be asked the names of any relatives who are already employed by the organisation.

It is unlawful for you to be asked about your race, skin colour or complexion.

It is unlawful for you to be asked about your religion or creed, your religious denomination, affiliations, and place of worship or what religious holidays you observe. You also must not be told of the religious affiliation of the organisation.

It is unlawful for you to be asked if you have a disability. But it is legal for you to be asked if you have any physical or mental impairments which could interfere with your ability to perform the job for which you are being interviewed, subject of any reasonable adjustment.

It is unlawful for you to be asked your original name if it has been changed by court order or otherwise, or if you have ever worked under another name and if so, to state the name and dates. If you are a married woman, it is unlawful for you to be asked your maiden name. But it is legal for you to be asked if you have ever worked for the organisation under a different name, or if any additional information relating to a change of name or use of an assumed name or nickname is necessary to allow a check on your work record. If the answer is ‘yes', you can be asked to explain.

If you are asked any of these questions, and you feel comfortable answering, do so, and take a decision on whether or not to highlight the unlawfulness of the line of questioning. If you don't feel comfortable, again, take a decision on whether or not to highlight the unlawful. While interviewers should be aware of what they can and cannot ask, if they are not they may not appreciate being pulled up by an interviewee.

One way of handling questions such as these is to answer with the question "Why do you ask?" This way you restructure the discussion around the issues that the interviewer is trying to address, for example, would you be willing to relocate? How long do you envisage yourself staying with the organisation? Will you get on with your colleagues and fit in with the organisation's management style?

If you feel compromised and obliged to answer an unlawful question, make a record of it to refer to later. It could come in handy if you feel that the outcome of the interview was negatively influenced as a direct result of a particular line of questioning and decide to take the matter further.