Polish speaking person required to help out with this blog

My Polish readership has been growing steadily lately so I've decided to include a few polish posts about things that Polish people like.

The trouble is, I don't speak or write Polish and I've no idea what they like to read about. Therefore, I need to hire a Polish person to assist me.

The trouble is, I have no idea how to advertise for one without creating a storm of outrage. I really don't want to end up in the same boat as this chap:



Shopkeeper under fire for advertising for assistant and insisting they speak POLISH

A shopkeeper who is recruiting an assistant has infuriated jobseekers - by turning away anyone who doesn't speak Polish.
Naveed Hassam placed an advert in the window of Costcutter in Bodmin, Cornwall, stating that a 'knowledge of Polish' was 'preferable' for the position.
But he has been forced to withdraw the ad after a string of complaints from unemployed local people desperate for work.

I could understand the concern if this chap was advertising a job that was only available to a foreign immigrant, but he's only asking for a Polish speaker. He's obviously not Polish himself so it's not like he is only opening the job to his own countrymen, he's specified a skill that is required for the job. Is this legal?

A spokesman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: 'An employer can say it needs someone who can speak a specific language to do a job if that is a genuine requirement, for example for a translator role.
'This is lawful if the focus is on the skill needed to do the job, not the nationality of the person sought.'

So it is legal if knowledge of the Polish tongue is a requirement for the job. But why would a costcutter need to hire a Polish speaker?

Mr Hassam said:
'We have a lot of people from Poland coming into the shop and I wanted someone who could understand Polish so they could order products for me and read what they are because I can't read Polish.

'I just thought employing someone with a knowledge of Polish culture would mean we could provide them with a better service.'

Sounds fair to me.

The supermarket has a Polish food section and sells the Poland Express newspaper.

I don't see discrimination here, I see a businessman doing what businessmen do, catering for the wants and needs of his customers.

Paul Baynon, 23, a local jobseeker, said: 'They asked me if I spoke Polish, and when I said no, they said that is what they were looking for, so I didn't have a chance.
'They didn't say in the ad that they wanted a translator.'

Unemployed local Robert Mill, 27, said: 'I would have liked the job at Costcutter because jobs are hard to come by in the town.
'I enquired about the position but I can't speak Polish.'

If I really wanted this job I could wail and moan about the unfairness of it all until Mr Hassam was forced to give it to me, but what would I do on my fist day at work when he explained that I was responsible for sourcing and ordering the Polish products? Demand that he hire a translator for me?

The number of Polish migrant workers living in Bodmin - population 13,000 - is not known.
But according to Cornwall Council's local education authority, there are currently only 23 primary and seven secondary school children attending schools in the area whose first language is Polish.

So the council have no idea how many childless Polish people live within it's boundaries?

Latest figures for unemployment show that 22 per cent of homes in Cornwall - or 36,200 out of 163,500 households - have no adult working.
Across the South West, more than 277,000 of 1.6 million households were unemployed, representing more than 16 per cent.

Those figures are appalling but bear no relevance to this story. Mr Hassam did not create Britain's unemployed, all he wants to do is provide a good service for his customers.

If local people are concerned that local businesses are employing foreigners, they need to turn to the government, not local businesses. If immigration is taking away needed jobs then immigration needs to be halted.

If a local businessman wants to hire an employee with a skill relevant to the position then he should be allowed to do so.

Thoughts?