I enclose a list of 10 illegal questions in the US. I was wondering on a comparative to Swiss practice. Source is Tech Republic.

===#1: Where were you born?===This question might seem like small talk as you get to know a person, but it could also be used to gather information illegally about the candidate’s national origin. Although it may seem more relevant, you should also avoid asking, “Are you a U.S. citizen?” You can ask whether a candidate is authorized to work in the United States, but avoid asking about citizenship.
===#2: What is your native language?===Again, the problem is that this question could be used to determine national origin. You can ask whether the person knows a language if it is required for the job. For example, if job responsibilities include supporting Spanish-speaking customers, it’s fair to ask whether the candidate speaks Spanish.
===#3: Are you married?===Here’s another question that would seem innocent in most settings, but definitely not in a job interview. Because you can’t discriminate on the basis of marital status, this question is off limits.
===#4: Do you have children?===This might sound like small talk, too — an innocent question in most settings — but not in a job interview. It’s covered by a general prohibition about discrimination over parental status.
===#5: Do you plan to get pregnant?===In the past, employers sometimes asked this question to weed out women who might take a maternity leave. It has always been rude coming from a casual acquaintance, and now it’s illegal as well.
===#6: How old are you?===Some companies used to avoid hiring older workers for a variety of reasons, ranging from a fear of higher healthcare costs and absences to a social bias in favor of youth. But age discrimination is clearly illegal, and you should avoid this question. Don’t try to get the information by asking when the person graduated from college, either.
===#7: Do you observe Yom Kippur?===You can’t discriminate on the basis of religion, so this question is illegal, as would be asking about Good Friday, Ramadan, or the Solstice. If you’re concerned about the candidate’s availability, you could ask whether he or she can work on holidays and weekends, but not about the observance of particular religious holidays.
===#8: Do you have a disability or chronic illness?===This information is not supposed to be used as a factor in hiring, so the questions are illegal. If the job will require some specific physical tasks, such as installing cables in walls and ceilings, you may ask whether the person could perform those tasks with reasonable accommodation.
===#9: Are you in the National Guard?===Although some managers may find it disruptive when employees leave for duty, it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because he or she belongs to the National Guard or a reserve unit.
===#10: Do you smoke or use alcohol?===

I was already confronted (not long time ago) in a form from the recruiting agency, with:

Are you pregnant?

I was bit pissed I must say...

At my last employer in the US, citizenship was a big issue. Or rather whether or not you were a 'US Person'. There are all sorts of export control issues often when you deal with people who are not 'US persons'. Also, US government agencies will always ask whether or not you are a US person. Perhaps, the proper way of doing this is to state in the job advert that only US citizens can apply.

BTW, Canadians often qualify as 'US Persons' as far as export control goes.

Am I the only one to think that these 'illegal questions' are political correctness gone mad?

I do hope Swiss employers are allowed to ask potential employees if they are married or have chronic illnesses. As for age and place of birth - these rate high among Swiss obsessions. There is little you can do here without declaring these...

I'd have replied "No, it's all the chocolate I eat - didn't realise I'd eaten so much".

LOL, It was on a paper form....

No I drink it.

If the questions such as chronic illness, pregnancy, age, marital status and kids are answered honestly by the interviewee from the outset it saves a load of hassle when the new employee is 6 months into the job and suddenly announces there are all sorts of reasons why he or she can't do the job he or she was taken on to do. It's a bit of fairness on both sides.

Political correctness on this level is a bit silly because in some cases it affects the person's ability to do the job. I agree you shouldn't ask about someone's religious persuasion or if they are gay or other stuff which wouldn't directly affect their ability to do the job.

God, if the guy knows he is going to die in 6 months or if he's got to go every two days for a hospital appointment why shouldn't the employer know about it?

Interesting topic, magyir. I've found several articles in German about the situation in Switzerland, they're a good start to get familiar with the domestic laws.

Generally speaking all questions about your qualification to do this specific job are allowed. The applicant is allowed to lie on other questions. He must also inform the potentail employer about facts that influence his qualifications (e.g. involvement in a court case about a crime that is relevant to the job tasks, like traffic offences for transportation companies or defalcation for an accounting job).

#1 - Normally not qualification relevant (but often mentioned on CVs anyway)
#2 - Native or fluent languages are often relevant qualifications I think
#3 #4 - Not qualification relevant
#5 - Not qualification relevant except if more absence than maternity leave is forseeable, or the job can't be done at all by pregnant women (e.g. removal woman)
#6 - Normally not qualification relevant (but usually traceable in the CV)
#7 - Normally not qualification relevant
#8 - Relevant p.e. if the workplace has to be adapted to accomodate the applicant. Seriously, is the American employer supposed to ask "are you qualified for the job?" to figure this one out?
#9 - Hmm good one, no idea
#10 - Obligation to disclose for jobs with responsability for others, e.g. pilot, nurse...

Some links: 1, 2, 3

Perhaps an employer in Switzerland can share his experiences?

None of those questions are illegal to ask in the UK so I very much doubt they would be in Switzerland.
What is unlawful across the EU is to discriminate in employment on grounds of race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation and age (I'll save posting the directives involved ).
Clearly, one would need to look at the justification behind the line of questioning, e.g. asking, "do you plan to get pregnant?" because you want to advise the candidate of your company's excellent maternity benefits package isn't going to be discriminatory at all.

I was asked 4 of those so called "illegal" questions during a recent job interview in Basel. To be honest I'm not bothered as I have nothing to hide, but what gets to my wife is when some companies ask for a photo What do they do with it... play Office 'Hot or Not'?

as others have said, none of these are illegal to ask but you are allowed to lie to a few without repercussions

IIRC, questions about your family planning as well as plans for a military career are among these as well as diseases/disabilities that are not directly connected to your job and sexual preferences.

Questions 1,2,3,4,6 and 9 I've actually been asked at pretty much every interview I've ever been in

it's normal to include a photo in your CV, is it not?

In Switzerland I don't believe that it is absolutely necessary, although it seems rather common. In Germany it's an absolute must-do. Stupid idea.

I think it's dying out. In the last round of recruitment we did we only had a few of the CVs with photos on plus people are beginning to write "references on request" instead of sending every certificate and reference they ever got with the initial application, which can only be a good thing.

If it helps, the two people we hired had neither photos on their CVs nor did they supply ten tons of references or certificates. We just asked for paperwork relevant to the positions.

When I was working in the city I got asked at interviews all the time the are you married, going to have babies etc etc

Loads of other sexist things but you get used to it - either that or you get out (and here I am in Switzerland...)

Yes, Unfortunately I confirm...And if you write on your CV

Marital Status: Separated or divorced you tend to get more phone calls... At least I experienced that...

Are you sure? I think the pregnancy/children ones are because they are assumed to discriminate against women (not many men get pregnant, for example).

Yes, it's not unlawful to ask the question, but it is to discriminate. One doesn't necessarily follow from the other, although you might use the fact that the question had been asked to back up a claim of discrimination if it could not be justified.

There's also a big difference between saying it is illegal to ask a question and saying it could be considered bad practice because it might give the impression of discrimination.

When you go to an interview you have to prove your identity. I mean, show an ID. This ALWAYS is so. There they know your age and the marital status too. Some EU passports include the picture of your sons.