Interviews: can they ask if I'm married?
I attended an interview and the interviewer asked me if I was married. I responded with the question: 'how would this affect my ability to do my job?' and he replied, 'I need to find out if you've got any children.' It was a horrible situation to be in and I didn't know how to react. Is it legal for the interviewer to ask these sorts of questions?
Depending on how strongly you feel about what happened (and whether you got the job) there are a number of things you could do. You might decide it's a blessing in disguise and walk away. However, the question you were asked could amount to unlawful indirect sex discrimination. As women tend to be the main child carers, women can argue it is discriminatory if they're not offered a job because the employer assumes they will be heavily involved in childcare responsibilities. Basically, the employer is making prejudiced decisions about the abilities and commitment of working mothers, and you could challenge that. In addition, you could argue that it's direct sex discrimination on the basis that the employer would not have asked a man the same question.
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