Make a job offer and pre-employment checks
Health checks - when are they appropriate?
Some employers include health checks as part of the recruitment
process.
Health questionnaires may cover individual and family history and
lifestyle. They can highlight potential problems requiring a follow
up, eg by a medical examination.
Only carry out pre-employment health checks:
- when you are sure you wish to recruit a particular person
- where any candidate - disabled or not - would be required to
undergo testing to decide if they are fit to carry out the job
- where testing is needed to meet any legal requirement, eg eye
tests for commercial vehicle drivers
- when you are sure you need this information and have policies
in place to securely hold it, on paper or computer, as required
by the Data Protection Act 1998
If you're making a job offer conditional upon the applicant's fitness
for the work, state this clearly in the offer letter.
Avoiding discrimination
Consider whether a medical report or health check is essential.
If the job offer is conditional upon receiving a satisfactory medical
report or other health records, this should apply to all applicants,
otherwise candidates with a current or past disability may be able
to claim disability discrimination. See our guide on how to prevent
discrimination and value diversity.
Obtaining medical reports
Doctors will expect a fee for carrying out a medical report. It
is usual for the employer to pay for the fee.
The candidate's written consent is needed before you can apply
for a report. Let them know they have a right to refuse consent.
If the candidate's own doctor writes the report, let them know
of their right to:
- see the report before or after it is supplied
- withhold consent to the report being shown to the employer
- request that the report be amended
Even without the applicant seeing the report, the doctor must keep
it for 21 days before sending it to the employer.
Subjects covered in this guide
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