12 Illegal Interview Questions Employers Should Never Ask

Summary

Finding new employees for your company can be a costly, time-consuming process. Therefore, it stands to reason that most employers want to create effective recruitment processes that help them find the most suitable candidate for the role. The fundamental parts of this process are the application and interview stages, where thoughtful interview questions help managers gauge a candidate's suitability for the role. But there's another consideration too. And that is ensuring a fair and respectful experience for everyone involved. Therefore, employers need to avoid questions that may inadvertently breach discrimination laws or compromise the integrity of the hiring process. So, what exactly constitutes an illegal interview question? In this article, we'll explore what you can and can't ask candidates, explain why, and offer guidance for conducting interviews that are fair and compliant with UK employment law. Age discrimination can affect anyone, young or old. It is a form of discrimination based on treating someone less favourably because of their age. Here are some questions that employers should avoid asking job applicants or interviewees to prevent potential age discrimination.

Key information

• When did you graduate from school?
• How long do you plan to continue working before retirement?
• Do you think you'll be able to keep up with the place of the team, given your age?
• Are you concerned about technology changing too quickly for you to keep up?
• Do you have any health conditions that typically affect people your age?
• Will your age be a barrier to you fitting in with our younger team members?
• Do you think your age will impact your ability to learn new skills or adapt to new technologies?
• Do you have a partner or a spouse?
• Are you planning on getting married?
• Are you in a civil partnership?
• Do you have a family or are you planning on starting one soon?
• Do you have children, or are you planning on having any?

Practical guidance

• Source: 12 Illegal Interview Questions Employers Should Never Ask

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