According to a report from recruitment website HireScores, 92% would hire a married man in preference to a pregnant women although no one said they would give this as an explanation. And 89% said they rarely take male applicants' commitments at home into consideration when recruiting.
Lisette Howlett, managing director of HireScores, said: "This topic raises some very difficult issues and although employment laws clearly state an employer cannot discriminate against a pregnant woman or a single mother, managers from small companies in particular are undoubtedly nervous about the added cost of funding maternity cover or dealing with quick dashes out of the office to see a sick child.
"But managers who openly question women about their home life need to be extremely careful and ideally reconsider their interviewing strategy."
Discrimination on age and gender still rife in hiring decisions
Almost half (49%) of business managers confess age and gender does have a bearing on their decision to recruit someone and 81% say they would ask female job applicants if they plan to have children, if the law permitted.
