"equal opportunities monitoring form" refusal?

[6strings]

Hi all,

I've been working for my present company for 7 years or so.
Last month, all employees were asked to complete an "equal opportunities monitoring form".

Once a week for the past month I have been emailed by HR, insisting I complete this form.
Questions include Country of Birth, First Spoken Language, Ethnicity (white, black, asian etc.)
My country of birth is not even listed, so I suppose that would be a "Other".

Anyway, I feel somewhat uncomfortable about completing this form.
There is no option of "prefer not to say".

Can the company claim this to be a mandatory exercise?
Can I (legally) politely refuse?

The monitoring form is via email, so my name would be evident and as a side issue, there is absolutely no confidentiality where I work.

In summary, I do not want to complete this form (confidential or not), where do I stand?
A number of other employees are in a similar position.

Many thanks

[leclerc]

Re: "equal opportunities monitoring form" refusal?

Have you asked them why you have to fill i the form? Has it got anything to do with the job that you do?


BTW, I do understand your apprehension, most of these forms more or less narrow down the list of employees to one or two.

[Amethyst]

Re: "equal opportunities monitoring form" refusal?

It is mandatory for some firms (over a certain size and civil service I think) to collect equality monitoring data but completing the forms is not compulsory unless it is written into your contract of employment.

You could print it out, write prefer not to say by all the questions and give it to them with a letter.

If you did complete it and return it and you were treated any differently because of the data entered in your form you would have a claim against the firm under the equality act as the data is JUST to be used for monitoring.

[teaboy2]

Re: "equal opportunities monitoring form" refusal?

Certainly a strange case. Usually you fill in such forms as part of the job application process. But as Amethyst said, its not compulsory for you to fill them in.

I would simply till HR that you prefer not to and that you are under no legal or other obligation to do so.

[6strings]

Re: "equal opportunities monitoring form" refusal?

I very politely emailed HR first thing this morning.
I said I was very uncomfortable with being asked to complete the form and further asked if the option of "prefer not to say" was available.
I have received no answer yet.

My dilemma is two-fold.
1. There is absolutely no confidentiality in the company. Sick notes are left on display on supervisors desks. Managers openly talk about other employees confidential matters. And so on.
2. I simply want to exercise some privacy. Some people say, there is nothing to hide and nothing to fear. I just want to keep things personal.

Many thanks for the answers so far.

[enquirer]

Re: "equal opportunities monitoring form" refusal?

I have often been presented with these forms and have always binned them. No comeback.

Some now even go so far as to demand information about 'sexuality'. It would be interesting to see a firm try to force someone to disclose that sort of information.

'Do you engage in sodomy? We really want to know'.