{"id":30822,"date":"2025-03-24T17:59:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T21:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.urelles.com\/magazine\/non-classifiee\/recruiting-without-discrimination-not-easy-but-highly-mandatory\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T21:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T01:08:41","slug":"recruiting-without-discrimination-not-easy-but-highly-mandatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urelles.com\/en\/magazine\/urelles-en\/recruiting-without-discrimination-not-easy-but-highly-mandatory\/","title":{"rendered":"Recruiting without discrimination: not easy, but highly mandatory!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Read more about inclusive recruitment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

You should be interested in inclusive recruitment – Here’s why!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n

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The competency-based approach: the (not-so-secret) secret of inclusive recruitment<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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During a recruitment interview, it’s essential to ask the right questions in order to assess the skills and suitability of candidates for the position to be filled. However, to avoid discrimination, it is equally essential to ensure that these questions respect the principle of equality, as stipulated in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

The Charter protects individuals against discrimination on 14 grounds, and the Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) ensures that these principles are respected in the recruitment process. Grounds for discrimination include gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, religion, ethnic origin, disability and many others. It’s crucial to remember that, while some questions may seem innocuous or informal, they can, in fact, breach the Charter by constituting a form of indirect discrimination. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

The dangers of asking illegal questions<\/h2>\n\n

It’s surprisingly easy to ask illegal questions, and therefore be at risk of discrimination, without realizing it. For example, a question like \u201cDo you have children? or \u2018Where were you born?\u2019 may seem harmless in an informal setting, but it violates the applicant’s fundamental rights. This kind of question undermines the applicant’s dignity by reducing him or her to a personal criterion irrelevant to the job requirements. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

It is therefore essential to be familiar with the 14 prohibited grounds for discrimination, and to ensure that the questions asked during the interview relate exclusively to the person’s experience, skills and ability to fulfill the requirements of the position<\/span>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n

A sword of Damocles for candidates <\/h2>\n\n

Whether to lighten the mood, break the ice or get to know the candidate, the mere fact of asking a question related to a ground of discrimination is a priori contrary to section 18.1 of the Charter.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

If an employer asks a candidate about any of these fourteen grounds for discrimination, that person will have three possible avenues: <\/span><\/p>\n\n