Rank: New forum user 
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Can anybody help me, I have been asked to look into the requirements for giving a medical questionnaire to new starters, but mainly for existing employees. I provide health and safety for a small company and my boss (the director) has been advised by various people that it would be a good idea to introduce this into the company.
I have no issues with introducing it, but my boss has concerns that we may have problems from existing employees who may abuse it, the way I see it (tell me if I'm wrong) if they say they have a bad back for example, that they will need to produce a doctors note as evidence.
My boss only believes in hard evidence, so is there any legislation or guidance that I can show him.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user 
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It is considered good practice to provide a health questionnaire for new starters and a legal requirement for an employer to provide health and safety arrangements (which may or may not require a health questionnaire) and health surveillance pursuant to the MHSWR 5&6 - see below. So, you have a couple of regulations which you can highlight to your boss as 'hard evidence'. I would also add that some people do not declare their medical conditions, not much you can do about that, but by ensuring you have asked the right questions you are seen to be a 'caring' employer as well as insulating the company from both criminal and civil law duties.
Health and safety arrangements
5. — (1) Every employer shall make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures.
(2) Where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record the arrangements referred to in paragraph (1).
Health surveillance
6. Every employer shall ensure that his employees are provided with such health surveillance as is appropriate having regard to the risks to their health and safety which are identified by the assessment.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Note the new conditions contained in the sixth edition of the ACoP for COSHH:
Examples where health surveillance is appropriate under the criteria in regulation 11(2)(b) are:
where there have been previous cases of work-related ill health in the workforce/place;
where there is reliance on PPE, eg gloves or respirators, as an exposure control measure; eg printers wearing gloves to protect against solvents used during press cleaning, or paint sprayers using two-pack paints wearing respirators to prevent asthma. Even with the closest supervision there is no guarantee that PPE will be effective at all times;
where there is evidence of ill health in jobs within the industry; eg frequent or prolonged contact with water (termed ‘wet-working’) causing dermatitis in hairdressers and healthcare workers, or breathing in mists from chrome plating baths causing chrome ulcers in platers.
Paragraph 238 amplifies this:
This is not a definitive or exhaustive list and there will be many other instances where health surveillance is required. Employers will need to seek information or advice on the specific health risks identified in the risk assessment, or through any topic-specific HSE guidance, trade associations or other professional sources.
However, if a 'medical questionnaire' is to be sent out I would strongly urge that this be done by someone suitably qualified in occupational health and who is then able to evaluate the response. It should also, in my view, only be done as part of a comprehensive health surveillance programme, again with the involvement of suitably qualified occupational health person(s).
Chris
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Rank: Super forum user
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We provide a pre-work questionnaire to every employee, it usually gets sent out with the job offer letter. This questionnaire is then returned to our occupational health provider and the information is treated as confidential. Any health issues that may mean the individual cannot perform his/her duties are usually investigated further by the OH provider.
We rely very heavily on two things, the first is honesty from the applicant and the second is the OH supplier understanding our business needs.
I would definitely endorse using a reputable OH supplier to provide this service for you.
Pete
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Rank: Super forum user
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It would be difficult for me to see how anyone can read a health questionnaire, even a brief one as part of an employment application, and be expected to understand the response if not a health professional.
Many people will be unhappy with having to produce a ¨doctors letter¨, since that is not an NHS obligation, and hence is chargeable (£10-£50).
And things concerning a persons confidential health items should be considered confidential anyway (although many small employers regard that as irrelevant)
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