Czech bank survey shows almost half of SMEs would not hire a Romani person

The Czech daily Právo has published the results of a survey undertaken by the ČSOB bank which has found that 48 % of the 500 small and medium enterprises contacted would not employ a Romani person. Nine out of 10 firms surveyed said they would never hire a person who had been convicted of embezzlement, robbery, theft or any violent crime.

Homeless people rated only slightly better than convicted felons. Responding to questions concerning the employment of the socially vulnerable, 15 % of firms said they would never give Romani people work even if they fulfilled the required qualifications.  

Another 33 % of respondents answered "probably not" when asked about Roma. People living with disabilities have a much greater chance of finding work in the Czech Republic than Romani people do, according to the survey (as many as 80 % of firms surveyed said they would hire them), as do foreigners from countries of the former Eastern bloc (68 % of entrepreneurs would hire them) and people convicted of causing a car accident (82 % of firms said they would hire such a candidate).

The results of the survey correspond to the conclusions of research conducted this year by the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Center for Public Opinion Research (CVVM) on coexistence with Romani people, according to which 55 % of the Czechs surveyed believe Romani people have worse options when it comes to finding employment (61 % of respondents agreed with that assessment in 2013). The ČSOB conducted the research to create its Index of Firms’ Expectations.  

This number, published quarterly, illustrates the mood of small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic. Each phase of the research involves 500 respondents (directors or owners of the firms) answering a questionnaire that regularly features various questions about the economy.

Each piece of research is augmented with a detailed qualitative analysis of one selected branch of business. The survey on the topic of employing the socially vulnerable was performed for the daily Právo as part of the bank’s regular investigations.  

How such discrimination on the labor market works was illustrated by news server Romea’s reporting on the case of the Clinea cleaning firm, which refuses to invite Romani women to interview for janitorial positions. In her interview, the owner of the firm explained she was responding to clients’ demands that Romani women not be sent to them:  "When we opened our firm we employed three Romani women, but when the clients saw their photos they called and asked whether the housekeeper was of Romani nationality, and I couldn’t lie to them. They just didn’t want them. I can’t influence that… If a client refuses three profiles like that… You understand – for me it takes a terribly long time to choose new employees, I can’t be held back by a client rejecting them, unfortunately."