If you’ve ever seen The Apprentice, you’ll know of straight-talking Lord Alan Sugar’s no-holds barred approach when it comes to hiring and firing potential employees. But now the multi-millionaire businessman has ruffled a few feathers after saying that he believes job-hunting women should tell bosses if they plan to have a baby…
In a debate ahead of International Women’s Day, Lord Sugar, pictured here with Apprentice winner Stella English, criticised laws which ban interviewers from asking women about whether they’re planning on starting a family. Instead, the businessman believes that women should be upfront and honest about their future plans.
He said: “I say women should be forthcoming when being interviewed, declaring their status regarding children and childcare so as to pre-empt the unanswerable questions in the mind of the interviewer and then focus on the most important thing: what skills they can bring to the company and why they should be employed.”
What do you think? Do you think Lord Sugar has a point when you consider the impact that maternity leave can have on small businesses in the current economic climate? Or are his opinions old-fashioned and sexist? Should women be honest about their plans to start a family during job interviews? Tell us in the comments below, talk to us on Twitter or write on our Facebook wall!
