Interview Questions that you are Not Allowed to Ask - Marital and Family Status

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These questions primarily concern women with children or women of likely childbearing age, however the illegal nature of the questions are applicable to everyone.

Ensure that assumptions are not made and avoid embarrassing candidates (and ultimately yourself) by abstaining from asking the following questions.
 

Illegal: "Is "Smith" your maiden name?"

This question may seem innocent and simple, but it's most certainly off-limits. A woman's marital status isn't something that's required to be shared with employers. Instead you can verify whether if she has gained experience using any other names by asking a question such as "Have you worked or earned a degree under another name?"
 

Illegal: "Do you have or plan to have children?"

The concern in hand here is that family obligation will get in the way of work hours, motivation and focus. Do not make assumptions on family situations alternatively find out directly what the candidates availability is by asking "Are you available to work overtime on occasion? Can you travel?" instead.
 

Illegal: "Do you have kids?"

It is not your place as an employer to ask this, but you may be fortunate enough that the candidate volunteers to give this information to your anyway. You can ask preferably "What is your experience with "x" age group?"
 

Illegal: "Who is your closest relative to notify in case of an emergency?"

This may come as a surprise to you as it is not obviously offensive, but this question does make assumptions about a potential employee's personal life. They may not be close to any of their relatives and would instead prefer to list a friend or caretaker. Therefore ask a question along the lines of "In case of an emergency, who should we notify?" instead.
 

Illegal: "What do your parents do for a living?"

This question can potentially reveal a great deal about a candidate but it does not however reveal their future performance in a position. If you are trying to find out if your candidates family has traditionally worked in that industry you can ask "tell me how you became interested in the "x" industry." This may help provide clarification and greater understanding on a candidate's family background.

 

About The Author


Simon Bonner, Associate Director at Aaron Wallis

Simon Bonner

Associate Director at Aaron Wallis Recruitment

Simon is an Associate Director of Aaron Wallis, a national recruitment agency specialising in sourcing sales and marketing staff. Prior to joining Aaron Wallis, Simon spent 10 years selling electronic security products and before this was a National Account Manager for one of the UK's largest recruitment groups.

 

In his two roles within recruitment, Simon has spent over a decade recruiting sales professionals for both blue-chip businesses and SMEs, giving him a wealth of experience to guide both candidates and employers through their recruitment journeys.  

Find out more about Simon here.

 

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