Dear All - one of our departments has been upgrading its recruitment processes in recent years. It provides information about the risk profile for jobs, for example. But it also asks short-listed candidates to complete a health declaration form prior to interview. The reason I came to hear of this was that I fielded one enquiry from an unsuccessful candidate about whether an item in the medical history might have influenced the decision. The department is clear that there were professional/scientific reasons for the decision but I have suggested to the department that this practice could be regarded as against the spirit of the DDA. The response is that the department has worked hard on its procedures and believes they are fair and non-discriminatory. I'm looking for feedback from others.
It seems to me that a health declaration should be limited to the candidate who is offered the job. An alternative might be to ask the short-listed candidates to complete the form and place it in a sealed envelope. When a job offer is made the sealed envelope for that candidate is sent to the OHS, the envelopes of any candidates on a reserve list being retained pending a decision, and the envelopes of unsuccessful candidates are sent shredded, ideally by the OHS.
Best wishes - Kate
Dr Katherine M Venables MD FRCP FFOM MFPHM
University Lecturer in Occupational Medicine
Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Old Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK
Telephone (direct) (+)1865 227034, (secretary) (+)1865 282677
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