Belgium Medical Secretary Rejected for Not Speaking Arabic

Seeking a new professional challenge, Sylvie, aged 56, used the Indeed platform to submit her profile. When asked if she spoke Arabic, her negative answer triggered a clear rejection from the algorithm. This situation deeply shocked the fifty-year-old woman who nevertheless masters French and English. She considers this exclusion absurd, firmly reminding that the three national languages of the country are French, Dutch, and German.

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Facing this controversy, the private medical practice defends a purely pragmatic choice. The administrative manager explains that this oral competency is essential to ensure continuity of first-line care for patients facing significant language barriers. The establishment is seeking a profile capable of complementing the existing team, since the two secretaries currently in position do not master this language. The employer insists that this condition falls within an objective and legal organizational framework.

The management also contests the definitive blocking of the file. According to them, the message received was only an indicative automated evaluation and the candidate could very well have completed sending her curriculum vitae via the system, or used the direct contacts of the health center. As reported by DHnet, the management claims not to have excluded any profile at this stage. This version is categorically denied by the main interested party, who maintains having completed her digital procedure to the end.

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This case directly raises the question of the legality of such a prerequisite. Lawyer Christophe Delmarcelle emphasizes that imposing a language is not discriminatory in itself if justified by concrete medical necessities. However, the legal expert warns that this criterion becomes problematic if it transforms into an absolute eliminating filter. Such selection risks indirectly favoring certain origins to the detriment of others, potentially opening the way to legal action for disguised discrimination before the labor court.