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petermnp  
#1 Posted : 06 March 2018 22:29:54(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
petermnp

I have been asked by HR to devise medical questions for new & existing employees, I understand the Equality act if interviewing staff so not sure what detail of a questions you are permitted to ask, has anyone got any ideas and I realise a form would need to be legally checked

zurek554  
#2 Posted : 07 March 2018 07:21:16(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
zurek554

 

At the interview stage or prior to the offer of the employment you are not allowed to ask questions about someone’s health or disability. There are special circumstances when you can ask eg if the position you are recruiting for is for someone with a particular disability. When asking such questions you must make it clear why you are asking or advertise prior to the interview.

However if you are looking for medical questionnaires for current and new employees – you are ok to ask various questions. Our Post Offer Medical Questionnaire is very comprehensive due to the work environment and specific questions for a drivers.

 

 

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petermnp on 07/03/2018(UTC)
Kate  
#3 Posted : 07 March 2018 11:19:49(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

I would get advice from an occupational health provider who would also be able to help you when health conditions are disclosed.  Otherwise you could find yourself in the predicament of having information and not knowing what to do with it.  Even better is for the completed questionnaires to go straight to the occcupational health provider as then you don't see personal medical information and the employees are more comfortable in disclosing it under confidentiality rules.

I have seen questions asked about disability before interview for two reasons, both of which seem to be legitimate: either to offer any adjustments that are needed for the interview itself; or because there is a policy of interviewing any suitably qualified disabled candidate.

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georgiaredmayne on 07/03/2018(UTC)
Hsquared14  
#4 Posted : 07 March 2018 12:12:50(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Hsquared14

Hi - This is something that should be done by someone with an Occupational Health background and qualification.  You can get this sort of advice quite easily for a modest fee and better to do that than cobble something together yourself and then get bashed for it later.

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petermnp on 07/03/2018(UTC)
petermnp  
#5 Posted : 07 March 2018 13:32:42(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
petermnp

Many thanks for the replies I have raised the points raised with HR and also given them a print out of the Equality Act, I have suggested this needs further advice from a OH professional.

A Kurdziel  
#6 Posted : 07 March 2018 14:16:49(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Originally Posted by: petermnp Go to Quoted Post

Many thanks for the replies I have raised the points raised with HR and also given them a print out of the Equality Act, I have suggested this needs further advice from a OH professional.

Gobsmacked that HR people are unaware of the requirements of the Equality Act but then again they are HR!

lorna  
#7 Posted : 08 March 2018 08:23:50(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
lorna

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: petermnp Go to Quoted Post

Gobsmacked that HR people are unaware of the requirements of the Equality Act but then again they are HR!

I'm not!!

LeanneD  
#8 Posted : 09 March 2018 10:40:04(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
LeanneD

Originally Posted by: lorna Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: petermnp Go to Quoted Post

Gobsmacked that HR people are unaware of the requirements of the Equality Act but then again they are HR!

I'm not!!

Me either.  A lot of companies have people working in HR roles these days with no qualifications or (it seems) common sense!

OP - why are you being asked to devise such a questionnaire - have to say it is ringing alarm bells with me and i dont even work there!

A Kurdziel  
#9 Posted : 09 March 2018 10:56:36(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Originally Posted by: LeanneD Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: lorna Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: petermnp Go to Quoted Post

Gobsmacked that HR people are unaware of the requirements of the Equality Act but then again they are HR!

I'm not!!

Me either.  A lot of companies have people working in HR roles these days with no qualifications or (it seems) common sense!

OP - why are you being asked to devise such a questionnaire - have to say it is ringing alarm bells with me and i dont even work there!

Has something gone wrong and  are you being asked to cover someone's backside?

The Cynic

johnmurray  
#10 Posted : 11 March 2018 07:56:22(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
johnmurray

Originally Posted by: petermnp Go to Quoted Post

I have been asked by HR to devise medical questions for new & existing employees, I understand the Equality act if interviewing staff so not sure what detail of a questions you are permitted to ask, has anyone got any ideas and I realise a form would need to be legally checked

You may also need to understand medical confidentiality....many OH advisors will not disclose all the infomation they have obtained with a HR department, even with employee consent.

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/employee-consent-health-information-needs-know/

Unfortunately, very many employers consider it their right to know everything about the employee....even when their responsibilities and limitations have been shown to them..and many have insufficient, or no, way of securing employee medical data, and even allow quite junior staff access to the information...

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A Kurdziel on 12/03/2018(UTC)
Steve e ashton  
#11 Posted : 11 March 2018 09:43:39(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Steve e ashton

perhaps, maybe, I ought to stop doing this, but.... READ THE LAW!. not some misguided (if well intentioned) simplification and interpretation of the law! The Access to Medical Reports Act ONLY applies where the medic or nurse is providing clinical care for someone... So a GP or a specialist referral.. Occ Health undertaking medical screening or surveillance are NOT providing clinical care, and any reports commissioned by an employer are not subject to the Act. Consent is not required UNLESS some misguided but well intentioned ??? OH professional has written it into their contract terms... Or if the employee has refused convent for the screen or surveillance... Which opens another can of worms!
Kate  
#12 Posted : 11 March 2018 09:59:12(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

I don't think there's anything misguided about writing confidentiality into occupational health contracts.

The relevant legislation here is the Data Protection Act.  You can't just hand over sensitive personal information about an employee to their employer without any restrictions.

Edited by user 11 March 2018 10:00:03(UTC)  | Reason: typo

johnmurray  
#13 Posted : 11 March 2018 23:17:32(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
johnmurray

johnmurray  
#14 Posted : 11 March 2018 23:22:00(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
johnmurray

watcher  
#15 Posted : 12 March 2018 15:28:25(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
watcher

Originally Posted by: johnmurray Go to Quoted Post
http://www.occupationalhealth.co.uk/article1.htm
Originally Posted by: johnmurray Go to Quoted Post
http://www.fom.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/conffomoct09kloss.pdf

John, I'm really interested in this debate, but make a habit of not clicking on links unless I know where it's taking me.

Any chance you could summarise your views, please?

A Kurdziel  
#16 Posted : 13 March 2018 10:31:47(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

The Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 was introduced to tighten up the rules about medical reports commissioned by employers (later extended to insurance companies). Before the Act a person might have a medical before applying for a job but they would not have a right see what information the medical report contained. This meant that the medical practitioner did not have to share information with the person about any conditions they identified nor could the person check the report to confirm that it was factually correct. It also meant that a person might be turned down for a job on spurious ‘medical’ grounds. What the Act said is that if a medical report was commissioned by an employer from a registered medical practitioner ( eg doctor, nurse etc) they had to obtain permission  from the person before they were allowed to look at it and that the person had the right to have a first look at the report and an opportunity to challenge any factual errors it might contain.

A pre-employment questionnaire is not a medical report from a medical practitioner.

A pre-employment questionnaire cannot be used discriminate against someone on the grounds of one of the protected characteristics described in the Equality Act including disability.

It can be used to identify what reasonable adjustments can be made and it can also be used to decide that adjustments cannot be made. For example if someone suffers from random fainting moments and the job involves working alone near dangerous equipment then that may be  a justified reason for not employing that person.

The data itself is regulated under the Data Protection Act 2017 and any data held by the employer must be justified.

For example, a pre-employment questionnaire might request an applicant’s inside leg measurement. What is the justification for hold that piece of personal information?

The employer could be heightist and will only employ people of a certain height. This is not a good reason to hold this information; it is clearly discriminatory and therefore illegal.

It could be that the question about inside leg measurements has just be on the form for ever and nobody has bothered to change it. There is no malicious reason to collect this information but neither is there a positive good reason to collect and keep this information. It is again illegal under Data Protection rules.

But it could be that the applicant is applying for a job as an astronaut and they need their inside leg measurement on record to make them a made to measure space suit. They need to keep this information on file and be able to share it with their space suit suppliers. This is a good reason to collect and hold and pass on personal data. So the key is not what questions you ask but why are you asking them.  

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Kate on 13/03/2018(UTC)
Kate  
#17 Posted : 13 March 2018 10:54:21(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

I had wondered where you were going with the inside leg measurement example!

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A Kurdziel on 13/03/2018(UTC)
Steve e ashton  
#18 Posted : 13 March 2018 23:08:36(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Steve e ashton

“"care” includes examination, investigation or diagnosis for the purposes of, or in connection with, any form of medical treatment;" The above... Reg 2 of AMRA... To those insisting AMRA applies to Occ Health referrals... Could you please explain what medical treatment you think is involved?
Steve e ashton  
#19 Posted : 13 March 2018 23:17:05(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Steve e ashton

And. “medical report”, in the case of an individual, means a report relating to the physical or mental health of the individual prepared by a medical practitioner who is or has been responsible for the clinical care of the individual. Clinical care.... Not screening or surveillance. We have a lot of badly written law in UK, this is just one example which is widely misunderstood and misinterpreted, very often by OH providers who can increase their power by overstating the legal requirements. And insurance agents who have only ever read their own company's interpretation. Please note the above two quotes are from the definitions contained in the regs. The terms are defined in the regs in an attempt to AVOID misunderstandings and confusion.
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