An Australian woman has shared a warning after coming across what she described as the 'mother of all red flags' when she was applying for a new job at a small business.
Jobseeker Sasha took to TikTok to share her shock after one particular question on the application caught her off guard, immediately leading her to think it was 'inappropriate and illegal'.
In an interview with Yahoo! Finance, Sasha explained she had been asked to fill out the questionnaire which touched on basic aspects of her life as part of her application to a role at a small business.
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She made her way through the questions, but couldn't believe it when she came across one which asked her 'relationship status today'.
The question came with a list of responses, including 'married, single, in a long term relationship, married with children, [or] in a new relationship'.
The final response on the question was: "I don't know what I'm in, I'm confused".
In her TikTok video, Sasha said she knew 'straight away' the question was 'highly inappropriate', so she reached out to the CEO to share her thoughts on the matter.
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However, his response only left her more confused as he wrote: "I still ask it anyway because from our cultural perspective it's important for me to know what kind of mental stability someone is [in] when they are planning to look after our team."
The boss also indicated that knowing someone's 'ability to manage [a] relationship' told him a lot about the applicant.
Needless to say, Sasha didn't agree. She told Yahoo! Finance: "I immediately thought that it was inappropriate and illegal. I knew in that moment I would not be proceeding with the questionnaire as it told me all I needed to know about the employer."
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Sasha went on to share a warning to other jobseekers on TikTok, saying: "If anybody ever asks you a question that is inappropriate, has nothing to do with the role, absolutely run for the hills because this kind of individual clearly has absolutely no boundaries."
Sasha revealed that she didn't end up replying to the CEO, claiming he must not 'know the first thing about basic employment rights'.
"If they've got no boundaries when it comes to your personal/professional life, they're going to continue to push those boundaries within the workplace," she said. "I'm shooketh that managers like this exist. Granted this is a small private business, but I cannot believe this actually happens behind closed doors."
Emily Brown