By CHRIS PATTERSON
Q. I take issue with Chris Patterson's comments a couple of weeks ago regarding the recruitment agency asking the question of an applicant, "Are you currently undertaking any personal grievances against previous or current employers?"
The fact of taking a personal grievance or not has no bearing on the applicant being able to do the job applied for and therefore is an unnecessary and invasive question and cannot be asked of a prospective employee. The example of the builder Patterson gives is not comparable.
It is true that an employment relationship is a serious relationship. Rather than prying into irrelevant issues, an employment agency should ask the employer if it has ever had any employment cases taken against it. A CV of the company is as important as the CV of the applicant.
It is the lawful right of an employee to claim personal grievance against an employer. Such information has no place in deciding suitability for a position and to request it is a breach of a person's privacy. However, information on whether the prospective employer has a history of claims against it is important so an applicant knows what type of employer they may be working for.