Does the Equality Act 2010 limit the use of health questions prior to a job?

Section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 prevents employers from asking about the health of an applicant before making a job offer, or before including the applicant in a selection pool, with some exceptions (see below). Therefore you usually won’t be able to ask health questions until a job offer has been made.

Are Pre-employment health questionnaires legal?

Employers can no longer ask applicants pre-employment health questions. In particular, the Act includes a general prohibition on employers asking pre-employment health questions.

What questions can an employer ask about your health UK?

Asking about health or disability You can only ask about health or disability if: there are necessary requirements of the job that cannot be met with reasonable adjustments. you’re finding out if someone needs help to take part in a selection test or interview. you’re using ‘positive action’ to recruit a disabled …

What is a pre employment medical questionnaire?

Pre-employment medical questionnaire long form (GDPR compliant) Last Modified. 17 Apr 2019. 22 May 2018. This form should be used to gather information about a new employee’s medical history, including their medical history and any specific conditions, details of any disability and information on any sickness absence.

What does pre-employment health screening consist of?

In general, the exam includes checking a candidate’s vital signs, weight, temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. It may also include specific tests such as drug and alcohol testing, physical ability and stamina testing, and psychological testing.

What is a pre-employment medical questionnaire?

What does a pre-employment physical consist of?

This type of pre-employment physical includes basic tests like checking the employee’s weight, pulse, blood pressure, temperature and other possible vital signs. A nurse or physician may also examine the candidate’s respiratory and cardiovascular health, vision, hearing, range of motion and reflexes.

Can an employer ask you to complete a medical questionnaire?

An employer can ask a prospective employee to complete a medical questionnaire, but only after it has made them a job offer and only if it complies with data protection requirements.

What is a pre-employment questionnaire?

A pre-employment questionnaire, or PEQ, is a screening tool businesses use to weed out unqualified candidates. Pre-employment screenings let you review applicants a little more in-depth. And after you screen candidates, you can set up interviews with applicants that stand out the most.

When did the Equality Act 2010 come into force?

As you are no doubt aware, the majority of the provisions contained in the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) came into force on 1 October 2010. The provision which has immediately attracted more attention from our clients than any other is that in relation to recruitment and specifically pre-employment questionnaires, contained in section 60 of the Act.

Can I use pre-employment health questionnaires?

To continue reading please register or login to your OHW+ account. One of the most talked about changes to be introduced by the Equality Act 2010, which was not in the original draft, but was introduced following pressure during consultation, is the ban on the use of pre-employment health questionnaires except in very limited circumstances.

What is the equality and Human Rights Commission’s policy on prohibited questions?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission does have the power to investigate the use of prohibited questions and may take enforcement action in its own name even when no discrimination has occurred. It remains to be seen how frequently this provision will be used.

Can an employer make a health or disability related enquiry?

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 did not prevent an employer from making health or disability related enquiries of applicants for a job, although it did make it unlawful to use the results of such enquiries to discriminate against a candidate because of his or her disability.