Reveal back injury in cover letter?

Galen

I was in an accident over two years ago which damaged three of my vertebrae. Which would you do - report damage or not?

Before the accident I was a full-time carpenter and a part-time home computer builder. Since my back is now knackered for carpentry I am looking anything other than factory work (too much standing around).

Either they presume I was sacked or that my back injury is too much of a risk for them.

I had a call back about a job last Thursday which was going well until I mentioned the back injury so it showed that I wasn't fired. The potential employer pretty much ran at that point, sure it was only a desk job.

AARRRGH

Tough one.

If it's a desk job and your injury won't affect you doing it at all (I'm assuming you can walk and sit down and move OK?), I wouldn't mention the injury at all, neither in the cover letter or the interview.

You could say something like carpentry was too physical for you, and you reckon you are more suited to an office job, etc.

mikemac

I'm not saying you're disabled OP but if you have a disability then I do know the government is pushing to get more people with disabilites into the workforce.

Tbh I wouldn't blame an employer to be nervous at employing you. What if your injury is aggravated and you miss months of work.
Or if you are asked to lift something and get injured and your employer gets sued.
I'm not saying it's right but these are valid issues.

http://www.enableireland.ie/services/index.html
Call those people and ask for advice as surely they'd have been asked this by countless other people. Might have some useful advice

keefg

Tricky one OP.

Even if you don't mention your medial history at the interview stage, a lot of companies now require their employees to go through a company medical.

In theory, the company cannot discriminate against you for your condition - as long as it has no effect on your ability to do the work you have been employed for - but unfortunately this isn't always the case.

The other side of the coin is that you must not be deliberately misleading, if you aggravate your medical condition while at work and you are forced to take a long time off sick and your employer finds out that you have a medical history which you didn't disclose then you could lose your job.

Your comment "sure it was only a desk job" can lead you into trouble. Sitting for 8hrs a day in the incorrect position can cause just as much damage to the spine as standing all day, and I have worked in offices with some crappy chairs so you may need a special chair to provide the correct support which can be expensive and your employer will most likely ask why you need the special conditions.

Also, office work can involve some heavy (ish) lifting, you may need to retrieve large A4 lever files from high shelves - which when full can be surprisingly heavy. All it takes is you to lift a heavy file in the wrong position and you could be "back" (sorry about the pun) to where you started.


So, my advice (for what it's worth :rolleyes: ) is that you go to your doctor to get a full physical assessment, this will determine what your back can & cannot take and ask him if office work is suitable for you. If he gives you the OK, keep a copy of the report and don't mention it at the interview stage.

If you have to go for a company medical, you can show the doctor the results of your own assessment & the all clear from your Doc. By law, the company doctor cannot disclose any of your medical records to your employer unless it will stop or hinder you in your normal duties (for which your own doc has given the OK ).

Good Luck.

subway

wrt a company medical, i was under the impression that they are used only to give a baseline on your start date.
ie, you have a back injury so if, in six months time, you try to blame it on this company the medical report would have identified that you had that condition prior to working there.

no one is allowed discriminate based on a disabitly afaik, (see my signature for a look inside my arm) my own employer looks after me with a special arm rest and regular ergonomics checkups.

as mentioned above, talk to one of the indepent groups that would know about this kind of thing and see if they can advise you.

Galen

I have damage on the front of my vertebrae so when I bend over muscle gets jammed against the jagged edges. Since that was the nature of my job, my employer had to release me from my contract. Basically a day of work with awful lot of the time with my back bent would leave barely able to walk and would take more than a day to recover so that's carpentry and any other manual work probably out of the question.

Basically I'm fine if I'm moving around (can't stay still for too long or pain builds) or seated in a decent office chair. I can lift heavy stuff if my my back is straight - with my knees ie. manual handleing.

I have been looking for a new job for the last 18 months, out of that only a couple of interviews and I had wondered if it was a good idea to state in my resume why I had to leave my previous employer. I was going to tell the potential employer about my accident at the interview but I see there no point delaying the inevitable. I will from now on state in my resume that I had an accident.

KdjaCL

Would sitting at a desk not hurt your back more?


kdjac

Galen

A good office chair pushs my back into the proper curve, I spent most of my time after the accident in one of these chairs.

Bethany

I have dealt with similar situations in the course of my work.Any employer is likely to be nervous of people with a history of back injury and the decision to not hire you may be done covertly or they may look for further medical evidence, usually provided at your expense, to show that you are fit for the type of work.
As was said already, there is no guarantee that a sedentary job will not have a detrimental effect on your back. Back injuries have a tendency to recur and that is why payouts for serious injuries are notoriously high. On a happier note, many people manage their back conditions and do not allow the injury to consume them. You sound very positive and you want to get back into the workplace.
If I were you and I base this on my own professional experience, I would, if I could afford it, get a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon who deals in back pain. Your GP will refer you. Yes, it will cost you about 150 to 180 Euros.
Let him assess you and then write a letter outlining your condition and his findings, assuming he finds you fit.
Don't mention back pain at interview, wait until the medical . Do not lie, declare if asked,and produce your consultant's report.Any evidence of physical leisure activities in which you are involved also helps.e.g membership of local gym etc. Non disclosure of your previous condition will negate any rights you have. If the work is office based and the company have proper desks , seating etc and there is no lifting involved, at that stage it would be very difficult for them to find you unfit for the job.
Spending a little money now and being prepared will be well worth it. Remember the company doctor is not your doctor, he is the company doctor. He makes his decision on what is the best for the company, he owes you confidentiality but nothing else.

RainyDay

If at all possible, can you get a statement from your doctor and/or occupational therapist stating what type of work is suitable for you. At a guess, your injury would have no relevance for office work. In this case, I would most definitely NOT reveal the injury before starting the job. Find a good story to explain your previous departure, without lying - lying would create a great deal of mistrust for any new employer.

Once you get the job, you would have certain rights under Employment Equality Acts not be discriminated against on grounds of a disability. Use these rights.

Galen

Hi Bethany, Thanks for the information. I was going to reveal my condition to the potential employer because I am simply not certain where I would fit in except perhaps behind a desk.

Repedative lifting, standing in a fixed position for longer than twenty minutes and being bent over for over twenty minutes (moulding timber with a router) is out of the question. So getting another consultation with an orthopedic surgeon is definitely a priority, but is financially out of reach at this time.

As for my fitness, I have made some serious changes in that area. After the accident my weight climbed to 21 stone so I sorted out my diet and purchased a recumbent exercise bike and I have lost four stone with another four to go.

glenporter1980

If you are looking for desk jobs, no need to mention about your back injury before joining. These jobs often involve sitting for long periods. There are lots of exercises that can help u reduce back pain. You can do exercises while sitting in a chair. If there is a problem after joining the company, you can ask for workers' compensation benefits.

Galen

I'm waiting for a reply after interview with UK company that expanding into Ireland. They supply products for the construction industry. They have several different job positions such as drivers, trade counter and so on, so I have informed them of my back injury and we'll see what happens.

Galen

Two weeks have passed since my interview which seemed to go very well.

So far I haven't heard anything from them and it doesn't look likely if I ever will. So that is another business rejecting me because of because of the injury.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

AARRRGH

Galen wrote: »

So that is another business rejecting me because of because of the injury.

Don't be so quick to blame the rejection on the injury! There could easily have been more suitable candidates...

Galen

I was interested in several different positions at the company but still came up empty. Considering my experience in the area I should have had a fairly solid chance but it is their loss.

AARRRGH

Also, it's possible your personality may not have been what the interviewer is looking for.

Basically there are tons of reasons to be declined a job. I do agree the back injury could be one of the reasons, but it may not be...

Don't let it get you down. Keep looking!