Irrelevant interview questions

[babydoll]

We ask those sort of questions because when overwhelmed with applicants we want to find the trouble free, stable people who won't have family dramas dominating their lives.

It's normal in a lot of jobs to have a criminal record check, and certainly not illegal to ask if you have a criminal record. You will be around cash and stock, so need to convince an employer that you are trustworthy, and don't have people close to you who would pressure you to steal.
Nothing sinister, just them trying to find out if they can put you in a position of trust.

While I completely understand the employers position to find trustworthy and stable members of staff, how can the questions the OP posted possibly gauge that? I find them terribly discriminatory and they'd miss out on a trustworthy, professional person like myself for being so judgmental.

 

[persianista]

I suppose there is an argument that just because your boyfriend is the local burglar, and your dad (the local drug dealer) put your mum in the battered women's hostel, shouldn't affect what a hard working, upstanding and trustworthy employee you will be.

Sadly, there are 100 people applying for every job. I think the exact statistic is 96000 young people training every year. Last year there were 18000 jobs advertised across the UK in the hair and beauty sector. There is clearly intense competition for every job.
Salon owners cannot be blamed for being choosy, and if that involves asking questions that you would prefer not to answer, well, don't work there.
I can guarantee that there will be a perky little 18 year old with more GCSE's and a nice, supportive family willing to take the apprenticeship place when you complain.
It's not unfair, it's called 'life'.

 

[happyfeet]

Just remember the interview process isn't a one way street. Interviews give you the applicant, the chance to discover more about the role, what is expected of you in that role, assess what your colleagues and employers will be like to work with and for and gain an understanding of what your working environment will be like.

If I was asked the questions you were asked OP, I'd be deciding that that employer/company wasn't somebody I'd want to work for.

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[babydoll]

I suppose there is an argument that just because your boyfriend is the local burglar, and your dad (the local drug dealer) put your mum in the battered women's hostel, shouldn't affect what a hard working, upstanding and trustworthy employee you will be.

Sadly, there are 100 people applying for every job. I think the exact statistic is 96000 young people training every year. Last year there were 18000 jobs advertised across the UK in the hair and beauty sector. There is clearly intense competition for every job.
Salon owners cannot be blamed for being choosy, and if that involves asking questions that you would prefer not to answer, well, don't work there.
I can guarantee that there will be a perky little 18 year old with more GCSE's and a nice, supportive family willing to take the apprenticeship place when you complain.
It's not unfair, it's called 'life'.

Maybe it is 'life' but I hope one day it's 'against the law'. I really don't see how judging someone on their family circumstances is any different from the discrimination against disability or having a child etc. both of which are illegal.

 

[virtues2011]

I suppose there is an argument that just because your boyfriend is the local burglar, and your dad (the local drug dealer) put your mum in the battered women's hostel, shouldn't affect what a hard working, upstanding and trustworthy employee you will be.

Sadly, there are 100 people applying for every job. I think the exact statistic is 96000 young people training every year. Last year there were 18000 jobs advertised across the UK in the hair and beauty sector. There is clearly intense competition for every job.
Salon owners cannot be blamed for being choosy, and if that involves asking questions that you would prefer not to answer, well, don't work there.
I can guarantee that there will be a perky little 18 year old with more GCSE's and a nice, supportive family willing to take the apprenticeship place when you complain.
It's not unfair, it's called 'life'.

But why do you think you are right? I don't believe that ALL young people should be placed in the same category as their parents. Some of my daughters 18 year old friends have parents that are in drug rehab and have little money and no job, but the girls all work hard and would dearly love a little help - they are genuinely embarrassed by their parents behaviour ..so do you think they should they ALL be penalised??.... I'm sure I am talking about the minority here but you can usually tell what people are like by using ordinary and acceptable questions and just listening to the replies.

And as for your comment "Salon owners cannot be blamed for being choosy, and if that involves asking questions that you would prefer not to answer, well, don't work there" ...I'll be interested to see your response to that in a solicitors letter when you are trying to defend your actions....it will only take one...probably the one you least expect.

..forgive me if I wish to finish on a personal note.... I worked with a guy who had been in the same company for 27 years - far longer than I.....last year he was caught stealing brass from our factory to sell at the scrap metal merchants he was arrested and subsequently removed from the company. Prior to this another guy on his lunch break claiming to be going shopping robbed banks on his way back to work - again he had worked there years, no record of any criminal offence prior to this, he went to prison....I'm not sure what the underhanded questions people ask in interviews are for. As employers use intelligence, I have camera's, CCTV all accessed remotely, I have password protected computerised systems in my salons so I know who does what. I have policies for my safe and money....I have no need to go on...

 

[loulou71]

I'm pretty sure that most of these questions are not 'legal' to be asked.

When questioning in interview you have to ask questions that are relevant to the position and not likely to introduce prejudice. It would be like asking 'are you pregnant' and then not employing that person becasue they were. Black and white is that you're just not allowed to do that.

Requesting CRB is acceptable in certain jobs but personal questions around your family are definately not! - no exceptions.

 

[persianista]

Ok, you win. Are you going to issue legal proceedings on Naomi's behalf?

I think you should, as you feel so strongly that she shouldn't have been asked those questions. We should all urge Naomi not to take the job, and PM Virtues so that she can instruct her lawyers, or at the very least send a stroppy letter pointing out that they shouldn't be asking personal questions like the ones described.
I know that Virtue is extremely successful in business, and her staff clearly never nick from her, so I'll bow down to her superiority and leave this thread be.

 

[dandelionpoppy]

Questions about friends/family are probably a complete waste of time, as the answers would be very hard to check up on. If you have a lot of applicants then long-listing and short-listing with the help of - if this is important to you -social network sites will weed out unsuitable candidates.

Interviews are limited in time and I think there are more useful questions to ask.

Those are the business points I would make, but I personally also think it would be a sad world if people could not escape their family backgrounds and are forever to be judged on what their relatives do.

 

[virtues2011]

Ok, you win. Are you going to issue legal proceedings on Naomi's behalf?

I think you should, as you feel so strongly that she shouldn't have been asked those questions. We should all urge Naomi not to take the job, and PM Virtues so that she can instruct her lawyers, or at the very least send a stroppy letter pointing out that they shouldn't be asking personal questions like the ones described.
I know that Virtue is extremely successful in business, and her staff clearly never nick from her, so I'll bow down to her superiority and leave this thread be.

There is no need to take it personally or emotionally. We are all good at what we do, I do not state what the laws are we just have to abide by them, it's up to you whether you comply. I have plenty to say on most of these threads and probably I am not always right - especially when it comes to hairdressing and beauty practices...waxing actually frightens me to death - I don't like pain..!! Ha Ha. It was a good debate and I enjoyed talking with you. I hope I will again.

 

[classixuk]

Gosh, some of the replies to this thread have made me quite cross!

I am in touch with the fact though that it may be because I am tired, having just finished a days work.

But let me give you 3 examples of how my own "irrelevant" interview questions have helped me and others...

A guy told me his parents were divorced during his interview and that one lived in X place, and the other lived in Y place. He had no family in Z place (the city I interviewed him in) other than his girlfriend and her family.

So when he turned up after New Year at work black and blue with bruises due to domestic abuse from the same girlfriend and her family, I remembered his circumstances from the interview and immediately invited him into my home for 4 weeks while he sorted out flights to his mum. We are still Facebook friends to this day.

And what about the girl who answered, "Yes" to the question, "have you ever suffered with anxiety/depression etc.?" And informed me she had an accident on a motorway a few years before that caused her to suffer from panic attacks for a while? 4 weeks after interview, when I was able to walk her through a panic attack so severe in the workplace that she thought she was having a heart attack and was bound to die, don't you think she felt thankful I knew about her history of anxiety and walked her through it calmly whilst on the phone to her family doctor?

And finally, what about the girl who told me she had no GCSEs on her CV as she was bullied by a teacher at school and her dad left her on her own to look after her mum and sisters from a young age? Those of you on my Facebook know what I got this girl as a gift after 10 years in service with me, and for those not on my Facebook, I urge you to watch the famous film with Audrey Heburn in it.

So, I will continue to ask these "inappropriate" questions, whether they should be made illegal or people will lie to me, I really don't care! It gives me a chance to help people who deserve the help/opportunity/whatever you want to call it, and I can't do that if I don't know the whole package about what I am taking on.

And I am sorry if that offends some of you.

I a sure if I asked everyone, "can you cut hair/can you do nails/are you trained in massage?" That 99% would answer, "Yes", but a working relationship with someone rests on much more than that. As an employer, my main questions in my mind are, "Can I help this person achieve what they want to achieve/can this person help me achieve what I want to achieve?".

That's about it!

 

[virtues2011]

Gosh, some of the replies to this thread have made me quite cross!

I am in touch with the fact though that it may be because I am tired, having just finished a days work.

But let me give you 3 examples of how my own "irrelevant" interview questions have helped me and others...

A guy told me his parents were divorced during his interview and that one lived in X place, and the other lived in Y place. He had no family in Z place (the city I interviewed him in) other than his girlfriend and her family.

So when he turned up after New Year at work black and blue with bruises due to domestic abuse from the same girlfriend and her family, I remembered his circumstances from the interview and immediately invited him into my home for 4 weeks while he sorted out flights to his mum. We are still Facebook friends to this day.

And what about the girl who answered, "Yes" to the question, "have you ever suffered with anxiety/depression etc.?" And informed me she had an accident on a motorway a few years before that caused her to suffer from panic attacks for a while? 4 weeks after interview, when I was able to walk her through a panic attack so severe in the workplace that she thought she was having a heart attack and was bound to die, don't you think she felt thankful I knew about her history of anxiety and walked her through it calmly whilst on the phone to her family doctor?

And finally, what about the girl who told me she had no GCSEs on her CV as she was bullied by a teacher at school and her dad left her on her own to look after her mum and sisters from a young age? Those of you on my Facebook know what I got this girl as a gift after 10 years in service with me, and for those not on my Facebook, I urge you to watch the famous film with Audrey Heburn in it.

So, I will continue to ask these "inappropriate" questions, whether they should be made illegal or people will lie to me, I really don't care! It gives me a chance to help people who deserve the help/opportunity/whatever you want to call it, and I can't do that if I don't know the whole package about what I am taking on.

And I am sorry if that offends some of you.

I a sure if I asked everyone, "can you cut hair/can you do nails/are you trained in massage?" That 99% would answer, "Yes", but a working relationship with someone rests on much more than that. As an employer, my main questions in my mind are, "Can I help this person achieve what they want to achieve/can this person help me achieve what I want to achieve?".

That's about it!

It sure doesn't offend me. ..I won't be the one with solicitors letters! Hopefully no one from HR is in here reading this ....then there'll be a post as long as your arm. ..ha ha.

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[Kim Lawless]

I really don't think that some of the questions asked were appropriate at all and these days when we're not even supposed to ask someones age, I can't see how they're getting away with it.

Questions about honesty and criminal records are fine..........but asking your boyfriends last name and if you're parents are together. Not on at all.

Have a read of this:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7187032.stm

 

[Belle Vie]

This sort of thing is really common and happens in all sorts of industries, 'legally' potential employers aren't supposed to ask about things like child care arrangements either but I've never been to an interview where I wasn't asked if only as thinly veiled chit chat post interview. I can completely understand why an employer would want to know this stuff even if I do disagree with some of it, this is the service industry and from some of the staffing horror stories we see here about boyfriends turning up at salons and mothers yelling down the phone at their little darling's wicked boss it's easy to see why.

In all honesty I think I would want as full a view of a potential employee as possible so would probably do the same.

 

[LocksOfLove]

I don't know much about the hair dressing industry in employing people but they had to do credit checks on my immediate family as well as CRB's due to financial crime etc, I have access to accounts with so many 0's on the balance its ridiculous and manage so much money, family could pressure me into committing fraud or whatever or if i was in financial difficulty I could easily take money from the company I work for. A guy I worked with who started long before me didn't have these checks before being employed he managed to screw the company over for £000's if not more! He took money from accounts etc he was doing it from the start - it turned out himself and his parents were in severe financial difficulty he suffered with depression tried to top him self and his last resort to save him self was to steal. But, it turns out this was not the first time he did it. So the checks are important... In any business I guess, like in a hair dressers your staff have access to tills, your stock... You can never be to safe. I agree some questions are sometimes irrelevant but it does reflect your personality and what kind of person you could potentially be. I have recently been declined from a job due to a medical condition - does it bother me? No not really as I know my condition is likely to get worse - who will want me working for them when I'm practically on my death bed? Lol xxx

 

[BeauTea Rooms]

You will probably find the employer asking these questions has had a bad experience with a previous apprentice/member of staff therefore is trying to gain a broader knowledge of who is in front of them
The questions may seem odd but so long as the employer can justify the questions they have asked there isn't a legal matter here, maybe a moral one but some large companies do aptitude testing, psychosymetric testing & some can request you have a psychological assessment depending on the role.
As an interviewer I ask a broad range of questions, some personal & some professional. I also don't formalise the interview setting therefore the interviewee usually feels more relaxed, you would be amazed what I've been told at interview & that's both interviewing people to work for me & work for others

 

[virtues2011]

What do people not understand on this thread. ... .. read Kim's attachment a few posts up. ...it's more luck than judgement for those that ask these questions in interviews.

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[misslady]

Gosh, some of the replies to this thread have made me quite cross!

I am in touch with the fact though that it may be because I am tired, having just finished a days work.

But let me give you 3 examples of how my own "irrelevant" interview questions have helped me and others...

A guy told me his parents were divorced during his interview and that one lived in X place, and the other lived in Y place. He had no family in Z place (the city I interviewed him in) other than his girlfriend and her family.

So when he turned up after New Year at work black and blue with bruises due to domestic abuse from the same girlfriend and her family, I remembered his circumstances from the interview and immediately invited him into my home for 4 weeks while he sorted out flights to his mum. We are still Facebook friends to this day.

And what about the girl who answered, "Yes" to the question, "have you ever suffered with anxiety/depression etc.?" And informed me she had an accident on a motorway a few years before that caused her to suffer from panic attacks for a while? 4 weeks after interview, when I was able to walk her through a panic attack so severe in the workplace that she thought she was having a heart attack and was bound to die, don't you think she felt thankful I knew about her history of anxiety and walked her through it calmly whilst on the phone to her family doctor?

And finally, what about the girl who told me she had no GCSEs on her CV as she was bullied by a teacher at school and her dad left her on her own to look after her mum and sisters from a young age? Those of you on my Facebook know what I got this girl as a gift after 10 years in service with me, and for those not on my Facebook, I urge you to watch the famous film with Audrey Heburn in it.

So, I will continue to ask these "inappropriate" questions, whether they should be made illegal or people will lie to me, I really don't care! It gives me a chance to help people who deserve the help/opportunity/whatever you want to call it, and I can't do that if I don't know the whole package about what I am taking on.

And I am sorry if that offends some of you.

I a sure if I asked everyone, "can you cut hair/can you do nails/are you trained in massage?" That 99% would answer, "Yes", but a working relationship with someone rests on much more than that. As an employer, my main questions in my mind are, "Can I help this person achieve what they want to achieve/can this person help me achieve what I want to achieve?".

That's about it!

The difference here is that you sound like a decent employer and have used this information to your employees advantage.

What about the employers that ask these kind of questions then decide they will not employee the candidate based on this 'irrelevant' information? In large corporate organisations there are strict guidelines for interview questions, case studies and exercises. There won't be any extra boxes where the interviewer can comment on the partners surname or status of parents marriage because it is illegal.

If candidates get to interview stage then they are allowed to request feedback. I'm sure employers wouldn't want candidates to read notes about their personal background - parents, partner, starting a family.

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[Mobile Manicure]

I don't know if these questions are illegal. If you were working in a high security government post (say MI5) these questions and many more would be asked. If they're allowed to ask these questions as a potential employer, surely anyone can. It's just up to you if you decide to answer them.

All the questions below are asked in the above kind of post.

NO GO AREAS
How old are you?
Are you married?
Are you gay?
What are your childcare arrangements?
Are you planning to start a family soon?
Are you a member of a trade union?
What political party do you support?
Source: Which?

 

[virtues2011]

The difference here is that you sound like a decent employer and have used this information to your employees advantage.

This is interesting. A guy who works for you is beaten up by his girlfriend and comes to work black and blue - I'd help any of my staff to get through this even if it meant staying at my house.

The anxiety issue of the girl having a panic attack and how calmly it was spoken through on the phone to the GP etc - Goes without saying, you would have to be calm and call the family doctor (I would hold these details in my salon)- no one knows for sure that anxiety was the cause.

The girl with no GCSE's - that would be completely up to the employer whether they would take that chance...again qualifications will always be brought up at interview - anyone would question the fact the girl had no qualifications...then she probably told her story....

None of these examples warrant any underhand questioning at interview stage.

 

[hartey]

If you can't ask a persons age, how, in the case of apprentices, will you know how much to pay them?
It's a stupid rule, and we should be able to ask WHATEVER we like, and we should be able to answer or not.