A lot of interesting contributions coming to light so far. Thanks for your inputs.
Originally Posted by
redsnail
I sincerely hope you've written to Carolyn McCall advising her of her folly. Let's see if her replacement scraps the scheme....
Actually, I have. Funnily enough, no response.
I am also writing to the Equalities Commission and the Equalities minister, The Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, to seek their opinions in this instance and try to better educate myself.
Originally Posted by
Pizzacake
1. EasyJet employ lawyers. Presumably very good ones. If they have felt this is legal, I would put very good money on it that your questionable legal ramblings are wide of the actual legal mark.
2. You keep saying about equally qualified, if they meet the minimum criteria, then they are equally qualified, and guess who sets the criteria? EasyJet. ! You may think that flight hours, or a better degree or a rampaging sense of entitlement make you better qualified, but if easyJet( again backed up by employment law specialists) say they don't see that as a relevant advantage then you are wasting your time.
Maybe spending more time brushing up on interview and people skills to make yourself stand out at interviews rather than raising tenuous questions online might just help this become a non issue for you by making you an exceptional candidate.
Pizza Cake, I would like to address your post in particular since it is more along the 'legality' lines I was pitching my original post at.
I am not a lawyer, no. Yes, I am rambling, but am I not allowed to, or am I far off the actual legal mark there, too?
I am in a free, parliamentary democracy where we - the society - vote for a government to represent us and our values. I may be misinformed, but I am trying to educate myself by writing to the above democratically elected postholders.
You'll also notice that I have been quite careful with my words. At no point have I said easyJet has broken the law. Instead, I've simply asked the question and remarked that I'm unconvinced that they are operating within the law. I may be ignorant, yes, but at least I'm inquisitive and willing to learn. It would be arrogant not to. The day we stop doing that - learning - as human beings, and especially pilots, is the day we stop progressing, growing and ultimately living.
On your second point, I have to agree with you - but this is
exactly the problem. It's not clear what defines an 'exceptional candidate' or makes someone 'equally qualified', and that's where there's room to wiggle for subjective hiring techniques - and is also what makes such a fool out of the likes of 'equal opportunities'.
Edit: I would also add that I have been good so far, at not letting emotions creep into my answers. I'm not speculating for example what current easyJet pilots might think or hearsay of instances where this scheme hasn't worked well. I am simply keeping to the question of legality. The rest is all opinion and emotion. At the end of the day, easyJet can do what it likes, moral or not - but it cannot operate outside the law.