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Czech Ombudsman's Analysis Shows Job Announcement Discrimination

July 01, 2011 posted by Steve Brownstein

A recent analysis published by the Czech ombudsman, Pavel Varvarovský, 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.

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. Varvarovský 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.