UK Companies ‘In The Dark Ages’ Where Female Recruitment Is Concerned
When it comes to recruiting new female members of staff, companies in the UK have been accused of living in the dark ages in a new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report, revealing that 36 per cent of employers think it’s fine to question women over their plans to have children in the future during the recruitment process.
What’s more, 59 per cent say they think a woman should say if she’s pregnant at the recruitment stage, and 46 per cent think it’s reasonable to ascertain if women have young children at this point as well.
Not only that but 44 per cent agree that women should have to work for a company for at least 12 months before deciding to have children. And 44 per cent also think that women who have had more than one pregnancy in the same job can prove to be a burden to the team.
Chief executive of the EHRC Rebecca Hilsenrath commented: “We should all know very well that it is against the law not to appoint a woman because she is pregnant or might become pregnant. Yet we also know that women routinely get asked questions around family planning in interviews. It’s clear that many employers need more support to better understand the basics of discrimination law and the rights of pregnant women and new mothers.”
Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, made further comments, saying that no woman should be made to choose between having a family and her career… but thousands of people are still forced from their jobs each year.
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