Pre-Placement Screening
The Equality Act (2010) makes it important for employers to be careful when asking health-related questions during the recruitment process, so as to avoid any prejudice, discrimination or misconception relating to certain health conditions and how these may affect someone’s ability to do their job, especially in relation to mental health conditions.
Pre-placement services (previously called pre-employment services) can be engaged after a job offer has been made, to highlight any job alterations or adjustments required for an employee to safely and successfully start their new role.
Pre-placement Assessments are used to assess an employee’s fitness to work in the job or role to which they have been assigned. They highlight recommendations for any reasonable adjustments that the employer may need to put in place to accommodate the needs of the employee. They are relevant both for new employees and for those employees moving to a new role within the organisation.
Used largely as a preventative measure, pre-placement assessments assess the health of an employee to ensure they are able to perform the duties required by their job and to allow for recommendations to be made to best benefit the working capacity of the employee.
Arranging health screening for new employees, whether new to the business or starting a new role, can be invaluable in preventing future problems in relation to health and safety in the workplace.
We are a SEQOHS-accredited private clinic
How are employees assessed?
Pre-placement assessments are typically carried out with an initial medical questionnaire.
This is followed up by a phone call with one of our Occupational Health nurses and in very few cases, sometimes a referral to an Occupational Health Physician is required.
Many companies find the Pre-placement Assessment by questionnaire sufficient for initial employee health screening while others find value in having their employees undergo a in-clinic Pre-Placement Assessment from the outset. We would be happy to discuss your requirements with you further.
Pre-placement assessment by questionnaire
In most cases, employees will be assessed using a remote Pre-placement Assessment questionnaire.
The employee completes a Work Health Assessment questionnaire, which is reviewed by one of our occupational health nurses. The OH nurse/OH doctor assesses whether the employee is fit to work in their role and whether any adjustments to the role are advised and issues a ‘Fitness to Work’ certificate. If they are unable to certify the employee’s fitness to work based on the questionnaire, they will recommend the employee attend a further Pre-placement Assessment either in-clinic or virtually.
In-clinic Pre-placement Assessment
The in clinic Pre-placement Assessment (sometimes called a Pre-placement Medical) can be arranged either following a Pre-employment Assessment by questionnaire (if recommended by the OH nurse/OH doctor) or from the outset.
A Work Health Assessment questionnaire is completed prior to the appointment. Please remember to bring a copy with you. The employee attends our occupational health clinic in London for a 30-minute medical with one of our occupational health doctors. The OH doctor will issue a Fitness to Work certificate advising whether the employee is fit or unfit to work in the role and, if appropriate, recommend any adjustments the company would be advised to put in place to accommodate the needs of the employee.
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Who should have a Pre-placement Assessment?
As the purpose of a Pre-placement Medical is to ensure that the prospective employee is physically and mentally fit to fulfil the duties and responsibilities of the proposed job role, it is suitable for most industries and job types
It offers valuable insights for a company regarding employee health.
How long does a Pre-placement Assessment take?
We have 2 type of Pre-placement Assessments:
- Assessment by Pre-placement questionnaire: this is completed by the employee at a convenient time and should take no longer than 5-10 minutes to complete. It is then digitally returned and reviewed by our OH clinician and results are shared.
- In-clinic pre-placement medical – This medical is undertaken in a 30-minute appointment with an occupational health clinician.
If I disclose any health conditions, will this stop me from getting my job?
The purpose of the pre-placement assessment is not to act as a barrier to employment, but to ensure that employees with health issues will be supported in their new role.
Pre-placement assessment is used by companies to help identify any health conditions among their employees, so that any necessary adjustments to working conditions can be made. Anyone concerned about having a pre-placement assessment should find it reassuring to know that deeming a person unfit to work occurs only in very unusual circumstances, when necessary to protect the safety of the employee or of others.
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FAQs
If the occupational health nurse or doctor is unable to certify an employee’s fitness to work based on the questionnaire, they will recommend the employee attend a further Pre-placement Assessment, either in-clinic or virtually.
This completely depends on the individual circumstances and varies case by case.
No. Everything you disclose is completely confidential. We cannot give the employer any information about you without your consent. We do however encourage open communication between you and the employer regarding any health concerns
Legally, you have to be honest and disclose everything to the occupational health clinician. The information is kept completely confidential and any medical information shared will not be disclosed to the employer without the employee’s consent.