Search for 'reliable' workers deemed discriminatory

The boss of a recruitment firm said she was told she could not place an advert for ''reliable workers'' because it discriminated against unreliable people.

Nicole Mamo, 48, wanted to post an advert for a £5.80-an-hour domestic cleaner on her local Jobcentre Plus website. The text of the advert ended by stating that any applicants for the post ''must be reliable and hard working''.

But when Ms Mamo called the Jobcentre Plus in Thetford, Norfolk, the following day she was told that her advert would not be displayed instore.



A Jobcentre Plus worker claimed that the word ''reliable'' meant they could be sued for discriminating against unreliable workers.

Ms Mamo, from Boreham Wood, Herts., said the situation was ''ridiculous''.

''I placed the advert on the website and when I phoned up to check I was told it hadn't been displayed in the job centre itself," she said. ''She said 'oh we can't put that advert on the job points'. She said it was because they could have cases against them for discriminating against unreliable people."