Illegal questions, inappropriate questions and interview methods

The interview is a legal process. It's covered by employment, privacy, and in some cases other laws related to confidentiality of various kinds.

The bottom line is that personal information, concerning applicants are not, ever, subjects for interview questions.

The employer is allowed to acquire information for reasonable business purposes, like payroll, ID, and other obvious sources, but not personal information.

The best guide to illegal questions are the subjects specified in Equal Opportunity and anti discrimination laws:

• Religion
• Political persuasion
• Sexual preferences
• Ethnicity
• Race
• Gender
• Age
• Disabilities
• Medical conditions
• Marital status

None of these elements are permissible topics for interview questions.

None of these cases is a consideration for employment purposes.

Asking these questions can be a legitimate cause for legal action.

Inappropriate Questions

Most of the inappropriate questions are based on the Equal Opportunity schedule, but there are a few which aren't obvious:

Sick leave:

A person diagnosed with an ongoing medical condition or a person officially classified as having a disability, but considered medically fit to work, may not be asked questions regarding sick leave or their medical condition.

The only appropriate and legally permitted question covering this subject is whether the person is fit to perform the duties in question. If they are, they can claim to have been discriminated if their condition is a factor in assessment of their suitability for the job.

Stress leave:

It's inappropriate to ask questions in relation to stress leave, on the same basis as sick leave. It's a personal question which may violate privacy laws.

Note: You may ask former employers regarding any attendance issues.

Workers compensation related questions

Depending on national laws, this is a legal question, may relate to current legal action, and may violate confidentiality, as well as containing an inappropriate personal element. Workers compensation questions have been removed from most application forms.

Gender related questions: Female oriented questions

Questions regarding to family commitments are not permissible. A woman's number of children, for example, can be seen as a discriminatory question, prejudiced against her employment as a result of family issues. That is illegal, and it's been the basis of many successful legal actions.

Relationships questions

Not relevant to the employment process, and a legitimate cause for complaint as an invasion of privacy.

Badly expressed questions

There are several possible problems for interviewers in the way they ask their questions.

A question which is really a series of questions is quite inappropriate. It can allow the interviewee to be confused, and often to answer some of the questions, but not others. It's bad technique.

Repeated questions

Repeating a question several times, if the interviewee can't answer, or has already answered, isn't acceptable. It's a form of 'badgering' the interviewee, and is grounds for complaint because it detracts from the interviewee's right to a fair interview. The repeated question indicates the answer was wrong in some way, or the interviewer is demanding another answer.

Vague questions

A question like 'How long is a piece of string', or anything which doesn't allow the interviewee to deal with specific issues, is of no value. The interviewee can reasonably complain that the interviewer wasn't asking a job related question.

If you're at all unsure of the legality of your questions, don't guess.

Check with an HR professional, before including them in your interview.