Interview questions that could land you in a tribunal

Guidance from an HR consultant in Ipswich on the casual interview questions that put your business at legal risk.

The rules around what you can ask in a job interview have shifted over recent years.

If you're running interviews the same way you did five or ten years ago, there's a good chance you're asking something you shouldn't be.

The difficult part is that the most dangerous questions often feel completely harmless. They sound like small talk.

But discrimination law doesn't care about your intentions. It cares about the effect on the candidate.

Here's what you need to know to keep your interviews on the right side of the law.

What to ask instead (and why it matters)

Let me start with the practical stuff, because that's what you're here for. Below are the types of questions that regularly trip up business owners during interviews, along with safer alternatives you can use straight away.

Questions about children or family plans

Asking "Do you have kids?" or "Are you planning to start a family?" feels like friendly conversation. But it touches on sex, pregnancy and maternity, all of which are protected characteristics.

If that candidate doesn't get the role, they could point to your question as evidence that it influenced your decision. Even if it genuinely didn't.

A better approach: focus on the actual requirements of the job. If the role involves travel or unsociable hours, ask whether the candidate can accommodate that. You get the information you need without straying into personal territory.

Questions about health or disability

You can't ask about health conditions or disabilities before making a job offer. There's a narrow exception where a condition is directly relevant to an essential function of the role, but outside of that, it's off limits.

Instead, ask whether there's anything you'd need to put in place to support them through the interview or in the role itself. That shows you're inclusive and keeps you compliant.

Questions about where someone is from

"Where are you originally from?" feels like polite curiosity. Legally, it relates to race and national origin.

The question you're actually allowed to ask is whether they have the right to work in the UK. That's a legal requirement for every candidate, so it's fair and consistent.

Why good intentions won't save you

I see this come up regularly with the businesses I work with. Someone asks a personal question to break the ice, the candidate doesn't get the job, and suddenly there's a complaint.

The defence of "I was just being friendly" carries no weight at a tribunal. The test is straightforward: did the question relate to a protected characteristic, and could it have influenced the hiring decision?

A casual question holds the same legal weight as a deliberate one. The tribunal doesn't distinguish between the two.

That's the bit that catches most people out. You don't need to have intended to discriminate. If the question touched on a protected characteristic and the candidate was rejected, they have grounds to bring a claim.

Two more question types to cut from your process

I've covered family, health and nationality above. There are two more categories that regularly cause problems.

Age-related questions

Asking someone's age directly is an obvious one to avoid. But asking what year they graduated is just as risky, because it's a proxy for age. It gives the candidate the same basis for a claim.

Keep your questions focused on relevant skills and experience. How long someone has been doing something matters far more than when they started.

Religion and belief

Asking what religion someone practises, or whether they'll need time off for religious holidays, relates to religion and belief. If the candidate is unsuccessful, that question could be cited as a factor.

If the role has specific working days or hours, simply ask whether they can commit to those. You'll get the answer you need without referencing anyone's faith.

A consistent process is your best defence

The single most effective thing you can do is build structure into your interviews.

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order. Score every answer against the same criteria. This does two important things for you.

First, it keeps the conversation anchored to what actually matters for the role. When you're following a set list, there's far less room for someone to drift into personal territory.

Second, it creates a clear record. If a rejected candidate ever challenges your decision, you've got documented evidence showing exactly how you assessed everyone. That's powerful protection.

A structured approach also makes it easier to spot problems early. If an interviewer goes off-script, you can pick it up in the notes and address it before it escalates into something formal.

As part of my HR consultancy services in Ipswich, I regularly review interview frameworks for exactly these kinds of risks. It's one of those areas where a small amount of preparation saves a significant amount of trouble later.

Questions to ask yourself about your current process

Before your next round of interviews, it's worth taking a few minutes to think about how things are set up:

• Do you have a written list of questions that every interviewer follows?

• Are you scoring candidates against defined criteria, or relying on gut feel?

• Would you be confident defending your hiring decision if a rejected candidate asked to see your notes?

• Have the people conducting interviews been briefed on what they can and can't ask?

If any of those gave you pause, it's worth tightening things up.

Let's make sure your interviews are watertight

Getting recruitment right protects your business and helps you find the best person for the role. Those two things go hand in hand.

I can look at your current interview process, review your questions and scoring criteria, and flag anything that could leave you exposed.

As an outsourced HR consultant in Ipswich, I work with business owners who want to get this stuff right without having to become employment law experts themselves.

If you'd like to have a conversation about how your process stacks up, book a discovery call and we'll go from there.