After hearing the president of the jury, the Ombudsman found that in that procedure it was settled that all notifications would be sent by email; and that the jury had sent to the plaintiff, in due time, an email message calling her to attend the public interview. However, during the tender, the plaintiff started working in another public body and failed to inform the jury of her new official email address. Therefore, although it is the jury’s responsibility to ensure that all communications to candidates are effectively received, in this case the jury could not be held responsible. • Case Q-1379/16 Entity addressed: General Directorate of Prison Services and Reintegration Date: 2016.04.27 Subject: Selection procedure to recruit prison guards. Eligibility criteria. Minimum height. Exclusion of a candidate who underwent a sex reassignment surgery during the tender In recruitment procedures for the post of prison guards, one of the eligibility criteria is to have a minimum height of 1,60m or 1,65m for female guards and male guards, respectively. During a tender a female candidate, who was 1,60m tall, underwent a sex reassignment surgery and changed the first name accordingly. Consequently he was no longer considered eligible for the post of male guard, for not having the minimum height. The plaintiff considered that a special treatment should be granted to candidates who had their gender reassigned, a situation that found no express provisions in the legal discipline applicable. After carefully analysing the problem, the Ombudsman concluded that the deliberation of the jury was grounded. The minimum height criterion is justified in the light of the role that prison officers have to perform in detention facilities, which is particularly demanding in prisons with male inmates, whose safety guards are bound to protect. Since this is the reason why a minimum height is required, that same justification is still valid and pertinent where the eligibility of transsexual candidates is at stake: no objective reason would justify the differentiation between male candidates. • 142 |