In research conducted by London law firm, Thomas Mansfield, graduates were asked to relay the worst questions they’ve received this year using placards to pose with.
The results were a collection of rude, sexist and racist questions asked by potential employers, with one job applicant, with a BSc in Physics, being asked: “Can you wear more make-up next time?”
Other questions included a woman with a degree in Journalism being asked: “Can you flirt with customers to make them stay longer?” and a male BA History graduate being asked: “Is that a hickey on your neck?” referring to what was actually a birth mark.
One notably illegal question was to a woman with an MSc in Personnel Management who was asked: “Are you planning on having children soon?” Under discrimination law and the Equality Act 2010, interviewers and employers are not allowed to ask either female or male applicants about their plans for children in the future.
Meredith Hurst, an Employment Lawyer at Thomas Mansfield, commented that: “Without even realising it, employers can ask seemingly innocent questions and break the law in the process.
“However, with employment law information so readily available online, there really is no excuse for insensitive questions or illegal practices.”
Other questions by employers to graduates included a dark-skinned applicant with a business administration degree being asked: “Will you be going back to Jamaica to work?” despite actually being French, and an MSc Economics graduate who was asked: “When was the last time you did drugs?”
Also asked was a graduate with an MSc in International Events Management, who received the question: “Would you do this for free?” and a female graduate with a BA in English Literature who was asked: “What do you think about dating someone in the office?”
