My point being, is that if you are singling out people of certain demographics, for certain questions in the workplace, you wouldn’t ask others you’re gonna be on a sticky wicket.
No one is saying the person of ethnicity is obliged to answer! But is the question racist? I've asked collegues with a North American accent where they come from, not quite knowing whether it's US or Canada. In fact, Americans love to talk about their ancestry, often European. So does it make a difference if the person asked is a person of ethnicity? I don't know. One of my elderly mother's carers was black, and I asked her what her accent was. She told me Zimbabwean. I didn't get the impression that she particularly wanted to discuss it however.
I'd suppose ir's more to do with the way the question is phrased, and what tone is used. I get asked all the time as a west London accent with a bit of jockenese thrown in tends to confuse some people - it's never bothered me
The question in itself isn’t racist but motivations can be, the person being asked won’t know for sure what the motivations are. Also like in your example the person seemed have been made to feel uncomfortable by the question. My responses are pretty much from a HR handbook, being that if you are singling out an individual or a demographic for questions you wouldn’t ask others you really shouldn’t ask them in a professional environment. It is deemed that if an individual wishes to discuss these things it’s up to them to bring them up otherwise it’s not considered any of your business.
What does the HR handbook say if you're interviewing someone for a job? Say, if you can't tell whether an accent is Russian or Ukranian?
Why is it relevant to a job interview if they are Russian or Ukrainian? Surely you’re trying to establish their suitability to the job?
I guess if there’s anyway for the rich to pay less tax and avoid paying tax, they will surely find it at the expense of the needy.
I think you can ask the nationality of someone you interview. But I agree, here we're talking heritage, so they are British with unknown heritage. Yes, I suppose you can argue that as an employer, you should just wait unless and until they volunteer it.
What if you ask anyone the same question as a part of having a friendly conversation ? Is that allowed ?
I’d think nationality would be covered in the application process anyway in respect of checking if the person is able to work in the U.K.
It's not always the rich that use private schools. Some parents scrimp and save to send their kid to one. Then there are scholarships and burseries for poor children to go. Private schools also bring in a great deal of money to the UK from foreign parents. And of course, they take pressure off schooling in the UK public sector. So it's not cut and dried.
Goldie was asking about a work environment, with a little bit of experience I have I was offering up what the stance is legally to the best of my knowledge… you’re now trying to imply I consider I dictate what can and can’t be said in general, which I’ve not suggested in the slightest, don’t be a dick.
Don't know many working class parents who can scrimp and save £45k a year to send their kid to private school…I must be mixing with the wrong kind I guess
£45k a year is for Winchester College, one of the most exclusive schools in the country and certainly the most academic. The average for private school fees is £15k a year, which can be achieved by parents, perhaps with contributions from both sets of grandparents.
£15K is the average don't forget, pumped up by the likes of Eton and Harrow. There are plenty of cheaper private schools, and since they have charitable status at present, they have to give grants etc so some poorer kids can attend
Im definitely mixing with the wrong kind of people then. Most of the parents I know can hardly afford to heat their houses let alone send the kids to private school.
Yes, for the Just About Managings, private school would be out of reach unless a scholarship or bursary was available. You might well argue that this alone was reason enough to abolish their charitable status. As I say, I don't have a definitive position and would like to hear all the arguments. All I would say is that I've been cynical about Labour's all inclusive education policies since their proposed solution to kids that were causing havoc in the classroom and clearly needed individual attention to sort out underlying problems, was to keep them in classes even if it disrupted the education of the rest of the class. That was madness.
To be honest myself and mrs hoops have discussed private education for the youngest who starts secondary next year. The local option is a very snobbish all boys school of which mrs hoops gets a lot of referrals from, mrs hoops is a clinical psychologist….
