Family questions could fuel discrimination claims says Bibby

The warning follows claims that British Airways had asked how much time candidates had taken off work to look after children in reference request to previous employers. Companies should steer clear of the area altogether said Bibby's managing director Michael Slade. Slade said: "The new Equality Act prevents companies from asking any health related questions that could be interpreted as disability discrimination. We believe the same should apply to questions relating to whether a person has a family." A BBC investigation claimed British Airways had asked in a request for a job reference whether a candidate had children and for details of parental absences. British Airways denied the request had any influence on the recruitment process, the BBC reported. Manufacturers were entitled to check if a candidate had taken their full parental leave entitlement once the person had been appointed, Bibby stressed. Slade concluded: "By asking whether a person has children before that person has been recruited unnecessarily exposes employers to the risk of potential claims on the grounds of discrimination. So our advice to companies is that they make sure they remove any questions from their recruitment process that could leave them open to charges of bias."