Recruiting and retaining talent can be costly to organisations. Which is why it’s so important to front load any conversations about work and health. On the other hand, it can be difficult to have these conversations while keeping up with legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. I caught up with Chris and Liz Terry at Insight Workplace Health to find out how they support organisations to optimise on-employment health checks.
Can you ask a candidate about their health before offering them a job?
You can only ask a candidate about their health prior to offering them a job in specific circumstances, if it is a legal requirement such as eye tests for commercial vehicle drivers, or if the job requires it, such as for insurance compliance. The reason for this is that unfair discrimination can result if people are ruled out on the basis of their health without having the opportunity to be considered for a role.
You can ask candidates about their health to see if they are able to complete an assessment or interview, and to determine whether any reasonable adjustments need to be made to assessments during the recruitment process. For example, providing a sign language interpreter during interview. This information cannot inform decisions about making a job offer and must be stored separately.
What if a job requires a specific health requirement, such as being able to lift heavy loads?
Where a role has an intrinsic functional requirement which may be affected by a candidate's health, questions relating to health in the context of that aspect to the role are permitted pre employment.
Can you ask applicants about their health after they are offered a job?
Yes, once applicants have been offered a job, employers are able to ask about their health and make the offer conditional on meeting health requirements. However, employers must never withdraw an offer on the basis of a candidate’s health alone, which would be discriminatory. There must be a clear reason why the candidate’s health means they are unable to undertake a function of the job, which cannot be overcome through reasonable adjustments.
So when is the best time to offer on-employment health checks?
Most organisations use on-employment health checks (previously labelled pre-employment health checks) after the candidate has been offered the job, but before their start date. In a few cases, these checks are critical to ensure the individual meets specific health requirements for the job. In the majority of cases, it is a data gathering exercise that will not have a bearing on the candidate’s job offer but will inform workplace changes to ensure the best possible set up as the individual moves to the new role.
How can a on-employment health check inform reasonable adjustments?
Health issues are useful to know about before onboarding because this knowledge can help guide local changes, adaptations and accommodations that help achieve sustainable and productive employment. Helping employees play to their strengths right from the outset of their journey in a new role requires communication before day one of the job. It also allows employers and candidates to plan ahead and apply for government funding.
How can occupational health services be useful in on-employment health checks?
An independent and confidential route to on-employment health checks is important. It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of health and other protected characteristics. Health and work issues can be complex and sensitive and must be dealt with confidentiality, independently to other elements of the hiring process. Medical expertise is valuable in translating the impact of a candidate’s health issues into the workplace environment.
How do you carry out on-employment health checks at Insight Workplace Health?
We have developed a unique triage process that is largely automated and runs through a secure and confidential online portal. This means that clinical expertise is only brought in when health issues are raised by a candidate, which helps keep both cost and hassle to a minimum.
Where a candidate raises health issues, we ensure that they are still able to safely undertake the role and work with the employer to recommend some accommodations that will give them the best set up, so they can set out to thrive in the new role.
It’s always best to be one step ahead of any issues around health and work. Sometimes we are brought in for occupational health support later in an employee’s journey, where health and productivity has deteriorated in a way that could have been prevented by earlier input. So pre employment health checks are really useful in enabling a preventative approach. This helps save costs, as well as challenges with productivity, team dynamics and HR input down the line.
How does the process work in practice?
Once the candidate is put forward for a on-employment health check, they receive a secure login to a confidential online portal where they complete a health questionnaire. We have built out different health questionnaires according to the industry and risk of the candidate’s prospective role so this first step is tailored accordingly. If no health issues are declared by the candidate via the questionnaire, the health check progresses automatically and the employer is informed immediately. This is time efficient as well as financially efficient for employers.
Any health issues that are raised by the candidate via the questionnaire are triaged by an occupational health professional. This usually involves a short telephone call to the candidate. If an in depth review is required, employers are offered the option to book an occupational health follow up appointment for the candidate.
On-employment health checks have proven to be a really valued service by the organisations we work with. They support organisations being in a position to take the lead on workplace health where candidates have pre existing health issues, as well as ensuring candidates are medically fit for safety critical roles. The processes we have in place are useful to organisations because complying with medical confidentiality and data protection law as well as the Equality Act 2010 can be confusing and resource intensive to navigate alone.
Looking to implement on-employment health checks for your organisation? Contact us here or call us on 01792 321010 to get the ball rolling today!
Comments