Failed Medical--Options??

mysillyusername

Hi everybody. Would appreciate some help here. My brother was recently offered a job pending a medical. The doctor (who does not work for the company) has failed his medical. However he has worked in similar jobs in similar companies previously and has never had any problems. Has anybody any ideas as to what he could do next?

youcancallmeal

Medicals are pretty much standard these days and the doctor very rarely has any affiliation with the company. Anyway its hard to say whether your brother has any options open to him without knowing more. I think if he has a serious condition which would likely keep him out of work for long periods of time then the company are within their rights not to employ him. If it is a case of a positive drugs test then thats a whole different situation, I don't think Irish companies do drug tests so its probably not that.

mysillyusername

Hi again. Sorry about the lack of info. The issue is with his eyes. His eyesight is not terrible but he has a condition called stigmatism. This condition does not affect his ability to work. He drives, has used heavy equipment and as I said worked in similar industries requiring medicals previously. This is the first time this has become an issue.

Can he contact his potential employer and seek a second doctor for a medical??

Rulmeq

mysillyusername wrote: »

Hi again. Sorry about the lack of info. The issue is with his eyes. His eyesight is not terrible but he has a condition called stigmatism. This condition does not affect his ability to work. He drives, has used heavy equipment and as I said worked in similar industries requiring medicals previously. This is the first time this has become an issue.

Can he contact his potential employer and seek a second doctor for a medical??

Can he not get it corrected surgically?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astigmatism#Ophthalmic_astigmatism

tomcollins97

mysillyusername wrote: »

Hi again. Sorry about the lack of info. The issue is with his eyes. His eyesight is not terrible but he has a condition called stigmatism. This condition does not affect his ability to work. He drives, has used heavy equipment and as I said worked in similar industries requiring medicals previously. This is the first time this has become an issue.

Can he contact his potential employer and seek a second doctor for a medical??

The condition your brother has is call 'astigmatism'. I have it and it is fully corrected with glasses. Your brother should not fail the medical if his vision is OK with glasses. Was he wearing his for the medical?

mysillyusername

He got his eyes tested at the end of last week and the optician sent a report to the doctor for the medical. He wears glasses for driving and working etc, so the condition is corrected for!

The optician said his eyes have not changed hugely in the last number of years, just what you would expect as someone gets older.

tomcollins97

If the optician says that the glasses provide 20/20 vision with no astigmatism then he needs to query the medical outcome. You mention that he wears glasses for driving, did he wear them during the eye exam for the medical?

However, if the astigmatism is so sever that glasses do not work there may be an issue dependent on the job.

mysillyusername

I don't know why but the guy didn't wear his glasses for the medical. But the fact remains that he has passed medical tests before and now this time its an issue.

Olduvai

He should put in a request to access the records of the job application, medical assessment and any other records that exist in relation to the job application.

If the public organisation is covered under FOI, the request is under Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 or alternatively he can make the application under the Data Protection Acts. If its a private organisation the request for access to the records is made under the provisions of the Data Protection Acts.

The records should tell your brother why he failed the assessment.

If he believes he was unfairly discriminated against, there is a provision under the Employment Equality Acts. It would come under the Grounds of Disability. I think there is a limit of 3 months to initiate this process. I would contact NERA for clarification on this process.

Eoin

Olduvai wrote: »

He should put in a request to access the records of the job application, medical assessment and any other records that exist in relation to the job application.

If the public organisation is covered under FOI, the request is under Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 or alternatively he can make the application under the Data Protection Acts. If its a private organisation the request for access to the records is made under the provisions of the Data Protection Acts.

The records should tell your brother why he failed the assessment.

If he believes he was unfairly discriminated against, there is a provision under the Employment Equality Acts. It would come under the Grounds of Disability. I think there is a limit of 3 months to initiate this process. I would contact NERA for clarification on this process.

All that sounds quite OTT considering he didn't wear the glasses that are needed to correct his condition.

unJustMary

mysillyusername wrote: »

just what you would expect as someone gets older.

There's the key: he used to be ok to work, he's not now because he's got older.

TBH, the fact that he chose not to wear glasses for the assessment makes me think he wanted to be found medically unfit for the job. Yes, this sound harsh. But he knows he needs glasses, and yet chose not to use 'em, it's kinda hard to avoid that conclusion.

What he could do next is start wearing the glasses for medical/eyesight exams, or applying for jobs where eyesight isn't so critical.