Before starting work, some companies require candidates to undertake a pre-employment health assessment. This process ensures that you are fit and able to perform all the tasks required of you, and that you don’t have any pre-existing health issues that could affect your safety, the safety of co-workers, or visitors to the site.
In 1995, the Government legislated to ensure disabled people had equality of opportunity in a wide range of areas, including employment. Since December 2006, it is a legal requirement for all public sector organisations to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. The Act requires employers to make “reasonable adjustments” to the workplace in order to accommodate disabled people. Reasonable adjustments include:
Alteration in duties
Provision of special equipment
Assistance from colleagues to undertake some tasks
Alteration of offices or furniture to allow physical access
Agreeing flexibility in hours or place of work
When prospective employees undertake pre-employment heath assessments, any changes that will be required can be arranged in advance.
Most pre-employment health assessments are conducted using one or more of the following methods:
Questionnaire (state-of-health questionnaire that can be sent by post)
Physical assessment by nurse or doctor
Interview (more likely if you’ve declared any condition in the questionnaire that might affect your ability to perform certain tasks)
Data and information gathered from pre-employment health screening is used to advise managers about any changes that need to be made to the workplace to accommodate disabled people or people with a chronic condition. In addition, it can provide information to managers about whether new staff members will need any specific health and safety training. Pre-employment health assessment information also gives employers a baseline of the health of their employees as they entered the company.
If the job involves any of the activities below, there may be certain health implications specific to the job that will need to be evaluated in more detail:
Work with patients
Work with babies or children
Contact with laboratory animals or insects
Handling dangerous pathogens
Other work requiring health surveillance
Night work
Food handling
Driving vehicles
Tasks requiring accurate colour vision
Prospective employees are usually classified as ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ for the job. Rarely, a person is classified as ‘provisionally fit’ and re-assessed at a later date.
Fit – there are no health or fitness reasons why this person cannot do the job.
Unfit – this person has a health or fitness problem that will prevent them from doing the job to the standards required.
Provisionally fit – a health or fitness issue has been identified that could prevent this person from safely undertaking their duties; however some time observing them in the work situation is needed before a final decision can be made. For example, if someone has recently recovered from an operation or illness that temporarily affects their ability to work, or there is a health problem that may recur again in the future. A probationary period of work may be offered so that further assessments can take place.
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