Targeting Students and Teachers From the Commissioner Putting Employers to the Test Recruitment and selection procedures have been given a lot of media coverage lately. There is a steady flow of enquiries to the Commission about unfair testing or irrelevant medical examinations being used as part of the selection process for a job, or inappropriate and discriminatory questions being asked at job interviews or in job application forms. Many complaints and enquiries arise from women being asked about their marital status or whether they are planning to get pregnant.
Age is also a common issue in recruitment.
For example, a complaint was recently made against an employer when they placed a job advertisement saying that males under 35 years of age need only apply. And our enquiries in this area often deal with people over 40 failing to get an interview or selection, they believe, because of their age. Particularly in this Year of Older Persons, I feel that there is a need to emphasise the high value of knowledge, experience and loyalty that older people can bring to their work. It is not only unfair for an employer or recruitment agency to make selection decisions based on irrelevant information - it is illegal. This is why we are organising a Forum in June that will focus on discrimination issues in this area.