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Czech ombudsman's analysis shows every sixth job announcement is discriminatory

22 October 2012
6 minute read

A recent analysis published by the Czech ombudsman, Pavel Varvařovský, has revealed an unflattering fact: Of more than 1 200 job announcements published on the internet server www.prace.cz, the largest web portal for job offerings in the Czech Republic, one-sixth contain at least one discriminatory requirement. Job-seekers are thus being pre-emptively excluded from employment opportunities. The analysis reviewed 12 044 ads published during the week of 1 -7 April 2011.

Firms most frequently discriminate against job-seekers on the basis of age and sex, but the investigation reveals that job announcements also discriminate against people with disabilities or members of other nationalities and states. Many ads unjustifiably list the requirement of a clean criminal record. The analysis reports that this discriminatory behavior is most frequently committed by Prague employers and is committed least often by firms in the Karlovy Vary and Olomouc regions.

News server nasepenize.cz reports that Czech employment law directly forbids making offers of a discriminatory character. Labor offices can fine those who violate the ban, but the server reports that the instruction to treat all job-seekers equally is not an absolute one. If a fundamental reason for differential treatment exists, particularly as concerns the nature of the work to be performed, then such treatment is not considered discriminatory. For example, there are professions (particularly artistic or athletic professions) from which job-seekers of a particular sex may be justifiably excluded, such as refusing women employment in a men’s choir. For other professions it may be essential to require a certain minimum age or professional experience (e.g., a minimum age for holding some governmental or public offices).

Work only for the young

The formulations that most often directly or indirectly excluded job-seekers concerned age. If it follows from a job announcement that a candidate of a certain age (or below a certain age) is sought, that is direct discrimination. The ombudsman’s analysis says ads for top management positions fall in this category, as did ads for phone operators 35 years of age or younger or for store managers at least 20 years of age.

Ads offering opportunities to work in a “young collective” discriminate indirectly. “From such offers it follows that younger candidates will be preferred. This is indirect discrimination, because an offer formulated in such a way a priori deters older candidates,” the ombudsman told news server aktuálně.cz.

We hire anyone, men preferred

The analysis reveals that many ads unjustifiably practice differential treatment on the basis of sex. Job offers intended only for men or only for women are discriminatory. The argument that the work will be more physically demanding may not be used to generally exclude women (with the exception of protecting pregnant women and mothers). It is not possible to exclude women from employment by arguing they should be more protected from risks that men also face (for example, when working underground).

News server nasepenize.cz says listing the name of a job title in the masculine gender in and of itself does not necessarily represent discrimination, because the masculine gender in the Czech language is also used to refer to mixed-sex groups (e.g., the formulation “prezident republiky je hlavou státu” [the President of the Republic is the head of state] in the Czech Constitution does not exclude women as candidates for the presidency). However, when only the feminine gender is used for a job title in the Czech language, the job offer is intended only for women and is therefore discriminatory.

The analysis says differential treatment is permissible only when the nature of the work offered requires it and when a particular sex is an “essential prerequisite”. “It is not discriminatory, for example, for an ad to seek a woman for the job of a women’s underwear model. On the other hand, seeking only women to promote goods in stores is discriminatory, because the female sex is not an ‘essential prerequisite’ there and a man can perform that role just as well,” Varvařovský said.

The ombudsman’s analysis says ads that privilege job-seekers on the basis of their marital status are also problematic. This is a form of preferential acceptance of married candidates for work in which their marital status is irrelevant, i.e., being married or being a parent is not a qualification for the job (e.g., ads for work “appropriate for mothers on maternity leave”, or ads that read “being married or partnered is an advantage”).

Nice and Czech

Requirements for knowledge of the Czech language also appear in job ads. Varvařovský says such requirements are legitimate for professions where frequent communication with other employees is necessary (e.g., knowledge of Czech at native-speaker level for sales representatives, press spokespeople, etc.). “However, there are jobs for which one can qualify with a minimal knowledge of the language (manual labor positions, etc.). Requiring a disproportionate knowledge of the Czech language with respect to the position offered can constitute indirect discrimination on the basis of state citizenship,” the ombudsman’s analysis says.

Discrimination of non-Czechs is also prevalent in job ads. EU law guarantees the free movement of workers in the EU and bans discrimination on the basis of state citizenship. Even though the requirement of Czech “nationality” is independent of state citizenship, it deters citizens of the Czech Republic who are of other nationalities or foreigners settled on Czech territory (e.g., “manager of Czech nationality sought”). This is discrimination.

Clean criminal record

In more than 600 job ads, the ombudsman found the requirement that candidates present evidence of whether they have a criminal record. In the vast majority of cases, a clean criminal record was a requirement. The ombudsman warns that unless the job requirement of a clean criminal record is established by law, consideration must always be given to whether submitting documentation of a criminal record is essential and proportionate. The ombudsman considers it discrimination in situations where a firm requires a clean criminal record of persons applying as unskilled laborers for construction or landscaping work.

The requirement of a clean criminal record for unqualified manual labor is inadequate and negatively impacts convicts doing their best to gain legal employment after serving their sentences. Varvařovský says such requirements significantly complicate the process of preventing recidivism through re-socializing former prisoners.

The ombudsman believes employers may request criminal records if it is necessary given the nature of the work involved. Should an employer come to the conclusion that such information is necessary, the nature of the crime committed should also be taken into account. If the job candidate committed a crime that is unrelated to the job he or she is seeking, it is not proportionate for the candidate to be rejected solely on the basis of his or her criminal past. For example, it would be legitimate to reject a person convicted of maltreatment of persons in their care for the position of an educator, or to reject someone convicted of theft for the position of cashier. However, it would be disproportionate not to hire such persons for gardening work.

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