Interview questions that could cost you a tribunal claim
- Paul Feldman
- 29 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Insight from an HR consultant in London, Camden on the casual interview questions that expose your business to discrimination claims.
As a business owner, you're probably confident that nobody on your team would deliberately discriminate during an interview.
That confidence doesn't protect you. Discrimination law doesn't care about what the interviewer meant. It only looks at the effect of what was said.
A single casual question could give a rejected candidate enough to bring a claim against you.
Here's what you need to know to keep your interview process on solid ground.
Why good intentions don't count
Most of the problematic questions I see in businesses aren't asked with any ill intent. They come from interviewers making small talk or trying to build rapport. Asking about someone's family, where they grew up, or when they finished university can feel perfectly natural in conversation.
But under discrimination law, the test is straightforward. Did the question touch on a protected characteristic? Could it have played a role in the hiring decision? If the answer to both is yes, the candidate has a basis for a claim. Whether the interviewer was being deliberately discriminatory or simply friendly makes no difference at all. A tribunal applies the same standard either way.
That's why it's worth knowing exactly which topics to steer clear of.
Questions about children or family plans
Anything along the lines of "Do you have children?" or "Are you thinking about starting a family?" relates directly to sex, pregnancy and maternity. These are protected characteristics.
Even if you were genuinely just looking for common ground with the candidate, a question like this gives them a clear argument if they're unsuccessful. They can point to it and say it influenced your thinking.
A better approach is to focus on the actual requirements of the role. If the position involves travel or irregular hours, ask whether the candidate can accommodate that. You get the information you need without straying into personal territory.
Questions that reveal someone's age
Asking a candidate their age directly is an obvious one to avoid. But asking what year they graduated carries the same risk, because it acts as a proxy for age.
Age is a protected characteristic. The focus of your questions should be on the skills and experience the person brings to the table, not on the timeline of when they acquired them.
Health and disability enquiries
You cannot ask candidates about health conditions or disabilities before making a job offer. The only exception is where a specific health requirement is genuinely essential to performing a core function of the role, and that's rare.
As part of our HR consultancy services in Camden, I often help businesses reframe these kinds of questions. Instead of asking about conditions, ask whether the candidate needs anything put in place to support them during the interview process or in the role itself. That shows you're inclusive while staying compliant.
Questions about where someone is from
"Where are you originally from?" feels like harmless conversation. It's one of the most common small talk questions in any setting. But in an interview, it touches on race and national origin, both of which are protected.
What you can ask is whether the candidate has the right to work in the UK. That's a legitimate legal requirement and doesn't carry the same risk.
Asking about religious practice
Questions like "What religion do you follow?" or "Will you need time off for religious holidays?" relate to religion and belief. If the candidate is turned down, they can argue that their answer influenced the decision.
Instead, outline the specific working days or hours the role requires and ask whether the candidate can commit to them. You'll get a clear answer without needing to know anything about their personal beliefs.
How a structured process keeps you safe
The single most effective way to reduce your exposure to discrimination claims is to bring structure into your interviews. That means preparing a consistent set of questions, asking them in the same order to every candidate, and scoring the responses against defined criteria.
Consistency does two important things for you. First, it keeps the conversation anchored to the requirements of the role. Second, it creates a documented record that you can rely on if anyone challenges your decision later.
A structured framework also makes it far easier to identify when an interviewer has wandered off-script. You can catch it early and correct it before it becomes a liability.
Some questions worth asking yourself
Before your next round of interviews, it's worth reflecting on how robust your current process really is.
Do you have a written set of interview questions that every interviewer follows?
Are your interviewers trained on which topics to avoid?
Do you score candidates against consistent criteria, or does the decision come down to gut feel?
If a rejected candidate asked to see your notes, would they hold up to scrutiny?
If you're unsure about any of those, your process may have gaps that leave you exposed.
Getting your interview framework right
Recruitment is one of the most important activities in any business. Hiring the right person has a direct impact on performance, culture and your bottom line. But the process itself needs to be legally sound.
I can review your current interview framework and recruitment process to make sure they're compliant and effective. Sometimes small adjustments to the questions you ask and the way you assess candidates can make a significant difference to both your legal position and the quality of your hires.
As an outsourced HR consultant in London, I work with business owners to tighten up their people processes so they can recruit with confidence.
If you'd like to have a conversation about your interview approach, get in touch and we can arrange a discovery call.
Contact Progressive HR Solutions: Web site: www.progresivehrs.co.uk
Email: Info@progressivehrs.co.uk
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