Letter: Employing guile

Sir: The ruling on behalf of the teenager whose interview was terminated after three minutes because the job involved heavy lifting and she was pregnant, means that employers must develop new, subtle but time-wasting procedures when interviewing ("Pregnant girl wins job payout", 15 December).

It appears to me that the world is a sad, mad place when someone can win compensation on such seemingly illogical grounds.

In the days when I interviewed for staff, the initial considerations were: did the applicant have the personality to fit in with the current team, or were they liable to be a pain in the backside?

If these considerations provided negative vibes, we went through the motions, but did not employ them. Experience teaches us that the person with the best paper qualifications is not always the best person for the job.

My instinct generally served me well but every time I ignored that "little voice", the department and the company always suffered. Political correctness now does not allow the employer to confess to using such instincts, so they will simply find other ways to sensibly reject anyone that they feel is undesirable.

ROY TOPP

Sanderstead, Surrey