A job advertisement for an office worker position is infuriating parents worldwide after stating “people with young children need NOT apply”.
The advertisement, which was shared by a Dublin oil company on recruitment website Indeed, was looking for a “person for answering phone and computer skills” with “a good knowledge of Dublin”.
But while the job requirements were fairly simple, it was clear any parents wishing to apply were off the cards.
Shared on Twitter by Irish startup WorkJuggle, the “horrendous” job ad quickly gained a lot of attention.
You can view a screenshot of the job advertisement, which has reportedly now been removed from Indeed, below.
“This just shared with us. Can you believe someone wrote this? And that @indeed posted it,” WorkJuggle wrote on Twitter.
Parents quickly began to express their outrage at the shocking ad, with many pointing out the fact that discrimination based on a person’s family is illegal in Ireland.
But although it’s rare to see such blatant discrimination spelled out in job advertisements, one woman pointed out that similar notions are often hidden in job ads.
“I know this is the caveat for half the jobs I have applied for,” Colleen Hennessy wrote on Twitter.
“But usually it is coded with “must be available for long hours” or “deadline driven environment” when I know the jobs don’t really require either.”
In Ireland, it is against the law for individuals to be discriminated against due to their family status.
Likewise in Australia, it is against the law for employers to discriminate against a person because of their responsibilities to care for a family member.
Have you ever been discriminated in the workplace for having children? Let us know down below.
Top Comments
Discrimination? People choose (one way or another) to be parents: they aren't born that way. Parents have priorities other than their careers to juggle and that's fine, but shouldn't employers be able to opt out from workers more likely to need time off or other accommodations on short notice?
As the woman quoted in the article mentioned, companies generally exclude or include people with certain coded phrases. People are outraged because it was blunt and couldn't be denied, but there are plenty of phrases employers use to discourage certain people from applying. Like activity and weight lifting requirements, especially if the near triple digits is code for "be young, able bodied and male". Workplace discrimination takes all forms. It could be coded in the ad itself, statements when you get into the interview (they can't legally ask someone their age here, so they'll ask when they graduated high school), and other practices as simply going through the motions and will even tell you to your face to expect a call back but then you get radio silence and no replies. They damned well know what they're doing. All these greedy companies want now is an inexperienced, young, naive person they can hire for cheap and mold until something better comes along and they'll be tossed aside as well.