Company’s unlawful pre-interview questions exposed
A company’s unlawful pre-interview questions asking for irrelevant and intrusive personal information have been exposed on social media.
A Reddit user shared a screenshot of the “pre-interview questionnaire” they had recently been sent by the Sydney-based firm, reports news.com.au.
The questions suggest the employer intends to unlawfully discriminate against the applicant based on their answers, according to employment law experts.
Company’s unlawful pre-interview questions exposed
The online pre-interview quiz involved 20 questions in total.
Most were lawful, asking about the applicant’s criminal record, ability to work in Australia, their current notice period and areas they prefer to work in.
However, the final three questions prompted the Reddit user to exclaim: “extremely illegal, right?”
The questions include:
- “Marital status?”
- “Do you need to discuss your career move with your partner/family member/other before making a final decision?” and also
- “Number of children + ages?”
Employment law expert Miles Heffernan confirmed the questions are illegal.
“There’s only one reason a potential employer is asking questions like that – it’s because they intend to discriminate against the applicant based on their answers,” he said.
A Sydney company’s unlawful pre-interview questions exposed on social media. Picture: Reddit
State and federal laws prohibit discrimination
Under state and federal anti-discrimination laws, it is unlawful to discriminate against someone applying for a job based on their marital status or their relationship or parental status.
For instance, section 124 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (Qld) states:
“A person must not ask another person, either orally or in writing, to supply information on which unlawful discrimination might be based.”
Examples of such unlawful questions include:
- How old are you?
- Do you plan on starting a family?
- Are you in a same-sex relationship?
- What’s your ethnic background?
- Do you go to church?
- Who do you vote for?
- Do you have a disability?
These questions are unlawful because they require the interviewee to supply information on their protected attributes which could be used to form the basis of discrimination.
Moreover, the information is not necessary to assess an employee’s ability to perform the job.
An exception to this law is when the information is necessary to confirm an applicant can perform the inherent requirements of a job.
While an employer cannot ask an applicant if they have an impairment, they can tell them the job involves heavy lifting and can then ask the applicant whether they have any physical condition that indicates they should not do that work.
RELATED ARTICLE Discrimination
“Do you know what you can or can’t be asked during a job interview?”
Reddit users revolt
Meanwhile, the recent pre-interview questionnaire posted by the Sydney firm has attracted harsh online criticism.
Reddit users described the intrusive questions as “shady”, “dodgy” and also “bizarre”.
“It’s awesome when a potential employer waves the red flags before the interview,” one person wrote, with another adding the questions were “intrusive and I would guess illegal”.
Others suggested trolling the company and flooding it with fake CVs in revenge.
The original poster was also repeatedly urged to “name and shame” the business, but refused to do so.
They however revealed plans to report the company to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Job interview questions should focus on the applicant’s ability to perform the tasks of the role. Picture: sturti/iStock
Don’t answer illegal personal question
Mr Heffernan said job interview questions should focus on the applicant’s ability to perform the tasks of the role.
“It is not acceptable to ask questions that seek information which goes beyond what is relevant to the job,” he said.
Finally, Mr Heffernan advised workers to refuse to answer any illegal personal questions which will leave them open to discrimination.
“I know it’s tricky, but if possible, ask the interviewer how the question is relevant to the position and your ability to perform the role successfully,” he said.
Please call our specialist team at Fair Work Claims today on
To connect with us, please follow us on
Fair Work Claims is a private consultancy and advocacy firm with no affiliation to any government agency, commission or tribunal.
Get in touch with us
