Today's Daily Telegraph reports on a new risk for unwary companies; that of job seekers from an ethnic minority group, or with disabilities, making multiple job applications with different claims about their backgrounds to catch employers out. They then point this out and settle out of court.
We've been to similar places before of course - here is a story about fake CVs, for example. The new story is slightly more disturbing in that it highlights the possibility that people are actually discriminating on grounds of race, sex or disability. Morality aside, this is plain illegal.
I do wonder, though, whether employers are actually aware they're doing it. Here's a somewhat related example to show how easy unwitting discrimination can be. Fifteen years ago I was working on a computer magazine and I was reviewing a couple of notebook computers, one from company A and one from company B. I liked the one from company A, didn't like the other - to me it felt tattier, it didn't seem to run as quickly and so I gave it a less than positive review.
Manufacturer B then phoned me and patiently explained that they had a badging deal - in other words, company B bought computers from company A, branded them and sold them as their own. I'd given identical computers different ratings and reviews.
I was new in the field and, OK, everyone screws up once in a while when they're new. But I was also a little disturbed. I was in no way consciously discriminating against company B, which was a less prestigious brand, but my prejudice had come out in writing anyway. At least a computer doesn't have feelings or rights, particularly, not to be hurt or abused.
Let's assume that at least some of the employers involved in today's story are doing the same thing - not consciously discriminating but nonetheless doing so. That's actually quite a deep problem and one that needs addressing - although how you go about it is beyond me.
The Telegraph's report is about individuals who have taken to reaching quick out of court settlements with employers who have discriminated against them on the basis of identical CVs. That may or may not be happening, but it's surely a symptom of a broader problem.
