work medical questionaire

[k8bailey]

Good morning all, wasn't sure where to post this, but hopefully someone can help.....

My partner is a carpenter and has recently been given a medical questionaire to fill in - is it any of his employers business if he has or had any medical conditions, so long as they don't affect his ability to work? The questions cover pretty much everything from birth and asks for details.

TIA

[ann_h]

If he has a sickness/life insurance scheme from his employer, he does have to disclose everything for the insurance to be valid.

[Androcles]

They may also want to know in case he has any conditions which don't directly affect his work, but the conditions under which he works may affect them. For example if he had a hearing problem and was working in a very noisy environment which could damage it further, so he would have to wear ear defenders, or perhaps a propensity to be allergic to materials, so if he had a skin condition, they would want to know if he was working with certain types of chemical.

See http://www.eurofound....009/05/RO0905019I.htm where the EU is concerned about impact of health problems which work makes worse.

[brenda]

I think the employer has a duty to ensure that his employees are safe in their work. and that they are not being a danger unto themselves healthwise.The employer should also ensure that the employees understand what this questionnaire is required for,where the given information will be kept, and who will have access to this information.
All this info is available from the employees GP, and with the agreement of the employee could be released to the employer.
Questionnares are frequently not filled in accurately because dates , illnesses accidents of a minor kind are often forgotten, and some things are deliberately left out.
Would you want to put down ,for example, that you are being treated at the moment for say ,some sexual disease, and this info could be read by say the tea lady because it has been left out on an office desk.
I am always personally very uneasy about the confidentiality maintained in a work situation.
What does your Union think of the questionnaire?

[k8bailey]

thanks for the answers so far. He's not part of any insurance schemes or a union.

His employers don't really follow the rules about personal safety equiptment anyway, so I think it's unlikely he would be made to take any extra precautions if he disclosed a medical problem. My main concern is that this information will be used against him, and as brenda said there are confidentiality issues.

Does he legally have to disclose medical info?

[brenda]

He can always join a union pronto.He does not have to inform anyone , especially about doing so.

[ladyalex]

I think the first step is for your partner to ask what the purpose of the questionnaire is.
As ann_h said, if the company he works for has a health insurance scheme, then they may require employees to give some medical history. Similarly if there is a pension scheme, a medical history or even a medical may be required.
If your partner is self-employed, I'm not sure why he would get such a questionnaire.
Ask them. It's going to be the quickest way to find out what it's all about.

[Androcles]

Who does the medical form go to? Is it to an Occupational Nurse or Doctor, or straight to somebody in the company. Is it a new job or has he been there a while?

If he has been there a while and this form has just appeared from nowhere, there must be some reason it is bing handed out. Is he the only one to get one or has everybody been asked to fill one out? If so, I think all employees are entitled to ask why. If he is the only one to get one, then definitely he needs to know why and who will be seeing the information and where will it be stored.

Employers have a duty of care to employees to make sure they are safe, but if they don't bother too much about safety as you imply, it seems a bt strange.

Give us some info about the questions I ask and give us a bit more data to go on...

[k8bailey]

Hi as I said theres no insurance scheme or pensions. It's a small firm probably less than 20 people. The form just goes back to the office, not to any nurses/doctors. He's worked there for about 6 years and this is the first time he's been asked anything about his health. Every employee has been asked to fill out the same questionaire. I don't think that the employers will be that discreet about any information they get - they like to gossip!