Asking Job Candidates about Their Health May Now Be Unlawful
Using pre-employment questionnaires could soon be illegal after amendments were recently made to the Equality Bill.
The House of Lords has amended Clause 60 of the Equality Bill following which employers will have no right to enquire job applicants about the status of their heath until after a job offer has been made to the candidate.
Until now, bosses could legally ask candidates whether they are suffering from a disability, are on medication or have a medical condition, even if it had no bearing on the job offered.
The move has drawn praise from health charities. Paul Corry, Rethink’s Director of Public Affairs, said the amendment ends discriminatory employment practices, which did not allow people with mental heath conditions to get jobs. He pointed out that until now mentally ill people or those who had a history of mental problems had been forced to cover up their health on job application forms to appear for an interview.
According to Corry, employers indulging in discrimination is a major problem. He said mentally ill people can have bright careers and add to the growth of any organisation but many employers could not see past their biases. He added that the amendment could signify a new beginning for all such candidates and praised the government for bringing about a procedure by which people will be judged on their ability and not on their medical records.
Employers can keep themselves up to date with HR and personnel developments to enhance the working capability of employees by taking accredited CIPD training such as the Certificate in Personnel Practice available from the experts at Workplace Law Training. The course provides a firm foundation in all the areas of HR and employment law and a better understanding of how employment practice works to help organisations to set their own organisation’s policies and procedures in context.
