Pre Employment Medical

Sfahys

I got offered a full time staff contract with a large multinational. As part of this I have to undergo a medical which I'm really worried about.

I suffered from a depressive episode last summer and was off work for 3 months and was hospitalised for 3 weeks. My consultant certified me fit to work and I returned to work.

In January of this year I suffered a hypomanic episode linked to anti depressants and was certified fit to work by my consultant and have been stable since. The consultant did not diagnose me with bi polar.

Can they fail me based on this medical history if my consultant certifies me fit to work and based on the fact I'm currently working at present and am not on any medication?

If you're fit to work at the moment do you need to disclose those things? I've done a medical for a job before and it was a once-over by a GP, wasn't a big deal at all.

Sfahys

I have to answer a questionnaire and it's with the same occ health company from my last employer so they have my medical history already.

AndrewJRenko

It's a tough one.

It would certainly come up on the questionnaire. If someone in your situation decided not to disclose the history, it could be seen as a breach of trust by the employer if it ever came out in the future.

Would your consultant go on record about the likelihood of problems reoccurring in the future and your resilience to workplace stress, which can be an issue in multi-nationals?

It might be worth calling Mental Health Reform or Aware or other organisations for advice too.

Sfahys

I'm going to get a letter certifying me fit to work from my consultant. Surely I can't fail a medical otherwise it would be discrimination?

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

It's a tough one.

It would certainly come up on the questionnaire. If someone in your situation decided not to disclose the history, it could be seen as a breach of trust by the employer if it ever came out in the future.

Would your consultant go on record about the likelihood of problems reoccurring in the future and your resilience to workplace stress, which can be an issue in multi-nationals?

It might be worth calling Mental Health Reform or Aware or other organisations for advice too.

Wanderer2010

Half the country have mental health issues. If you don't feel comfortable disclosing it then I wouldn't. If any issue came up when you were working THEN you could always go back and tell your doctor to start a new slate as its a new job but I would just say you are in fine health for the sake of your new job. You certainly wouldn't be the only worker with mental health issues.

AndrewJRenko

Sfahys wrote: »

I'm going to get a letter certifying me fit to work from my consultant. Surely I can't fail a medical otherwise it would be discrimination?

I'm not an expert, but I don't think it would be considered discrimination if they come to the conclusion that your condition would mean that you would not be capable of doing the job.

To take an extreme example, it would not be discrimination for Dublin Bus to refuse a position as a bus driver to a blind person, because a blind person is not capable of driving a bus. So if they did reasonably conclude that, as a result of their doctor's investigation, you would not be capable of doing the job.

As with all these things, it would ultimately be down to the WRC to make a ruling on discrimination of otherwise based on the fine details of the case, so I don't think that I or anyone else could answer this definitively. That would be a long and winding road, and wouldn't really solve your problem.

My advice would be to see if your consultant could say something good about likelihood of recurrence and resilience to workplace stress, that would count for much more than a general 'fit for work' statement.

Lux23

I think you're better off just being up front. I haven't had a depressive episode in over ten years but I still mentioned it at my last medical a few weeks ago. And if you lie and fall in while in employment in the new job they might just let you go.

livedadream

Be honest, the way is works from my experience (ive had medicals myself and work in HR so get reports with every hire) is:
you fill out a form about your medical history,
you meet a nice nurse who is a specialist in occ health.
you go in have your medical- hearing, blood pressure, drug test, height weight etc.
she fills in a form with the facts, hearing this, blood pressure that the drug test is done there and then. some do test for illegal and other drugs but as long as you disclose it your fine (obviously if you have a prescription)
you give them permission to contact your GP. they will ask before doing it though.
if the nurse has any doubt she will get a doctor to have a chat with you.
They then tell you if you are fit to work or not.
they then send a three line letter to HR saying met joe soap on date.
after testing is in our opinion fit to work/not fit for work.
yours
dr.