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Unreliable Workers of the World Unite!

By Bruce Carton

When I wrote here two weeks ago about reports of the snowballing "nanny state" in the U.K., at least one commenter (with a ".uk" Web address) called the reports "tosh" and "half true." Such reports, he said, were "merely anecdotal accounts" that said "nothing substantial about the nanny state." Perhaps. But here's some more half-true tosh for you, guvna. Via Overlawyered comes this story in the Telegraph about Nicole Mamo, who simply wanted to post an advertisement for a £5.80-an-hour domestic cleaner on her local Jobcentre Plus Web site. She wrote in the ad that any applicants for the job ''must be very reliable and hard-working." When Ms. Mamo called the Jobcentre Plus the following day she was told that her ad could not be displayed because "the word 'reliable' meant they could be sued for discriminating against unreliable workers." That could lead to litigation against Jobcentre Plus, she was told. It appears that sanity somehow prevailed here, however, as the ad did eventually get posted. A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions refused to comment on the phone call made to Ms. Mamo but confirmed that ?reliability is important to employers, as it is for Jobcentre Plus...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on January 29, 2010 (boomark / email).