Interesting: Pre-employment screening still in use Almost half of job applicants are still asked whether or not they have a health condition or disability at some point in the recruitment process, despite the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 tightening up the circumstances in which pre-employment health screening can take place. According to research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), applicants with a health condition are significantly more likely to be asked how this might affect them at work and whether they would have any problems carrying out an essential part of the job to which they are being recruited. In 30% of cases where employers ask for pre-employment health information, the EHRC report suggested that it is being requested without providing an explanation or justification related to the exemptions in the Equality Act - for example, as part of diversity monitoring or in order to identify job adjustments. In one in 20 cases, the research uncovers practices that the EHRC is more confident in classifying as unlawful. There is some evidence that private-sector employers using health screening at the pre-offer stage are more likely to target those with a health condition or disability. Despite the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, the use of pre-employment health questions remains common and, even where potentially allowable questions are asked, job applicants rarely recall being provided with a legitimate reason for the questions or "indeed any reason at all", the report concluded. People with a long-term physical or mental health condition or illness are "more likely to be asked pre-employment health questions by their prospective employer", it added. The EHRC concluded that current employer practice presents a "significant challenge", given that a large proportion of organisations believe they already have a good understanding of the Act, despite the fact that what they understand to be good practice may in fact be unlawful. Equality and Human Rights Commission research report 87 (2013). Use of pre-employment health questions by employers. Perceptions of mental health and rehabilitation Employees with common mental health symptoms who also struggle with work participation find it particularly difficult to think about going back to work, according to this randomised controlled trial of a job-focused cognitive behavioural therapy intervention. The study of 1,193 people of working age discovered a "strong and salient relationship" between illness perceptions and return-to-work expectations. Issues around the consequences of their mental ill health, identity and personal control were associated with uncertain and negative return-to-work expectations, the researchers found.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:12:32 +0000
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