How to complain about discriminatory job ad?
A job ad was published in the print news asking specifically for a man (see photo below). The Cayman Labour Law states that discrimination based on sex is illegal yet this company makes being male the first requirement to fill the position. Clearly this is wrong and illegal. But what agency polices this kind of behaviour? Who would I be able to report this to and what kind of disciplinary action would the company be subject to?
Auntie’s answer: There are actually two laws that deal with sex discrimination. In addition to the Labour Law (2011 Revision), the Gender Equality Law, 2011 addresses this issue. An official with the Department of Labour and Pensions (DLP) explained how each covers sex discrimination. Section 80(1) of the Labour Law “prohibits discrimination by reason of sex with respect to a person’s hire”, with Section 80(3) saying that anyone who contravenes subsection (1) “commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for twelve months”.
The official then explained that the requirement in the ad for an applicant to be male “may discourage female candidates from applying. However, it may be prudent in such cases for the department to undertake an investigation into whether a female person’s application was rejected on the basis of her sex, and whether there is proof of such, in order to make the determination that there has been discrimination …by an employer.”
The DLP official also pointed to the Gender Equality Law, which contains a “more specific provision”, Section 4(1), which says, “A person who is an employer, shall not in relation to the recruitment, selection or employment of any other person, discriminate against that other person on any ground specified in section 3(2) – (a) in an advertisement of a job; (b) in an interview or other arrangements made for the purpose of determining who should be offered employment; (c) in determining who should be offered employment; (d) in the terms or conditions on which employment is offered; or (e) in the creation, classification or abolition of jobs.” Section 3(2) refers to grounds including sex, marital status or pregnancy.
The official noted that under this law the Gender Equality Tribunal would “be positioned, and have the authority, to hear and determine discrimination complaints” such as the one the reader asked about.
For more information on the circumstances under which an employer can specifically recruit a man or a woman, email the Gender Equality Tribunal at get@gov.ky.
To file a complaint with the tribunal, download the Complaint Form and follow the instructions. Once the form is completed it can be emailed to get@gov.ky.
To contact the DLP call 945-8960 or email the department at dlp@gov.ky.
The laws mentioned above can be found on the CNS Library
Send questions to auntie@caymannewsservice.com
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Category: Ask Auntie, Labour Questions
One thimg is certain. CNS is a nest of betamales
Women should be at home caring for the children and cooking the dinner anyway.
Do we stop and realize that today we have women that can do everything a man can do except make babies .
And everything else they can do better than some men .
The private sector is so far behind our civil service it is frightening. i was at a conference recently and was amazed to see that 56% of the civil service are women and even better news women are paid more than men in the civil service. I am joining the civil service.
Certain physical jobs requires a man, because a woman is not strong enough they are not built that way, can a woman fire officer go in to a burning building and bring out a unconscious 250 lb man ? Now all other jobs (that don’t require physical strength ) a Doctor, Airline Pilot, C E O’s etc, etc, etc. On and on, a woman can do just as good as a man or better
Please name all the women that pioneered discoveries, scientific or otherwise.
Lol obvious troll is obvious
Ron, not some jobs that require strength, a woman is not as strong as a man
Anonymous 8:09am , maybe where you are living but not here in the US , Some of these women would blow your mind.
That’s called being delusional
Just another day in the whacky private sector. Our civil service has to work do hard to police the inept private sector.
Everyone keep calm and do not feed the troll.
I’m sure there is just a deluge of unemployed female welders on this island that just cant get a shot in life.
I’m the son and/or daughter of an MLA. I once watched a YouTube video on welding. Give me the job now.
I agree! Male doctors should be able to sue female patients that refused to be treated by male physicians just because of their gender.
It’s pure discrimination!
I didn’t realize patients were the employers
Please take the survey and call this misogyny out…www.genderequality.ky
I don’t know about Auntie. But first of all the lgbt claims on discrimination are based on unscientific findings. However, your case of discrimination may be justified. At times, an employer does have the right to discriminate when it comes to finding the right person for the job.
Agree 100% LE5 Provided that the Advertiser is being totally honest and not trying to be deceptive in their advertising. I recall being asked to interview for a Banking job for which I was totally qualified and to be fair to the dishonest Interviewer, he told me as soon as I walked through the door and sat down that they had someone from Guernsey earmarked for the job but Immigration had told them that their quota of Caymanian ‘interviewees was short so I was there to make up the numbers. At least he didn’t waste TOO much of my time by his honesty/dishonesty. Once the Ad is specific to the advertisers needs and the details non-deceptive, realistic and totally genuine, I don’t have a problem.
That’s flat out illegal and you should have sent a copy of your resume, names of the place, interviewers name with a letter of what took place to immigration.
Pick a major law or accounting firm in Cayman. Many are guilty of just that and the authorities refuse to do anything even when it is brought to their attention. Other jurisdictions might even liable such arrangements as corrupt.
I would normally agree 7.19am but proving that this was what the Interviewer said would have been another thing (which is probably why he had the ****s to say it). My only regret was the wasted time actually showing up for the interview but like I said – to be fair – because of his ‘honesty/dishonesty’ I only allowed it to last a few minutes because he was admitting it was a scam from the outset. Shame I didn’t record it on my phone but that probably would have been illegal or inadmissible at any hearing.
You wouldn’t need a hearing. You just need to send it to immigration for evidence!
I saw that one. I smiled when I read ‘Fluent in English, Tagalog and Hiligaynon a plus but not required’ .. Really ??
You seem to have missed the many ads specifically asking for Filipino men and women or Jamaican helper, or Spanish lady etc.
Men are better welders than women.
Clearly you never watched Flashdance. Jennifer Beals welded circles around the men, while being pursued by the steel mill owner, and dancing in leg warmers at her audition for Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory. Facts.
You might say, she was a maniac (in a positive sense).
I found it interesting to see an ad in todays paper in Accounts…requirements….College Degree in Bus Admin..3 yrs accounting experience..willing to work wkends and some evenings ….$18-$30 K p.a…. Please ! If I had those qualifications , I’d expect to be earning considerably more than that. Couldn’t be that the job was already earmarked could it ?? (Or designed to attract an ex-pat willing to settle for a pittance) ??
Exactly. Does immigration ensure work permits are only granted or renewed at the rate advertised?
No. They have not for years. Alden appears to have blocked any moves towards enforcement.
A real shame since our world class civil service should of course deny any work permit application that follows, and scrutinize the employer for possible offenses under labour, pension, health insurance etc. laws.
I just spent 3 years accounting… for my actions, in northward. Am I qualified???
You bet!! You also have the added experience of being ‘called to the bar/s’ – that should count as a plus ! lol
Quite possibly, yes.
I have not seen the ad. Is it possible they meant it’s only part time, evenings and some weekends?
Cause if its full time AND they are required to work evenings and weekends on top of that for 18 to 30k per annum, that’s just crazy!
Doesn’t say anything about part time..the salary says $18-30K p.a.
So let me explain how this works…
Throw a low number out: $18-$30K for a job that should command more pay based on the qualifications…
IF an undesired (read Caymanian) applies, then you run them down on skills and experience – to run them away.
IF the undesired has skills and experience, then you can either say they are overqualified for the position OR work them to the bone for pennies and laugh all the way to the bank.
NOW when the REAL person that you want applies for that job, you offer the desired person the REAL salary and cite their skills and experience as the reason for the salary adjustment.
You see, people assume the advertised salary will remain the same once they have the person they are looking for…
BUT in the meantime, the low salary is used to keep the position open and provide justification to hire abroad.
ONCE the position is filled, the employer doesn’t need to notify immigration or provide an update to newspaper saying position A makes X salary.
Thanks for explaining this to those that haven’t figured it out. I thought everyone knew how this worked. Amazes me that people haven’t figured it out.
This is not new and has been working for years and years and years. (that equals at least the 25 years I have been here)
I think you’re missing the previous posters’ subtleties…they’re mostly talking ‘tongue-in-cheek…knowing full well the reality as in 11.01’s post.
And of course, it is all totally illegal and no one ever does anything to punish the perpetrators.