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Do you conduct pre-employment medical tests as part of your recruitment and selection process? Are you following the right procedures in conducting medical or physical examination for prospective employees?

Many employers usually ask candidates to undergo a battery of medical tests at the final stage of the recruitment t process often as a routine practice rather than as part of an overall recruitment strategy.

To properly conduct a pre-employment medical test, you must know the mental or physical attribute required for the job. These attributes must be documented as only attributes specific to the position should be assessed in a medical examination.

Medical examination helps in risk and liability mitigation. Testing can help you reduce legal and insurance risks as well as improve organizational health and safety by employing staff who are mentally and physically fit to perform the required responsibilities.

However, as stated earlier in this article, testing must be done for specific reasons in order to avoid law suits. Some employers routinely reject candidates who are pregnant or have a disability or illness. Before doing this, make sure the condition is such that it would prevent the applicant from carrying out the required tasks. If you reject a candidate because of medical results though the condition would not hinder their performance on the job, you could run the risk of going against equal opportunity /anti-discrimination legislation.

In summary, as an employer, you should only ask for a pre-employment medical examination to determine if the candidate has the health status needed to perform well in the job. Also, you have a responsibility to check whether the candidate has infectious diseases that may threaten public health. This responsibility depends on your industry. Employers in the health or hospitality industries would need to assess prospective employees to determine that they are free of infectious diseases.

Another factor to consider in medical examination for applicants is the medical personnel conducting the test. The doctor in charge must be reasonably competent and qualified to carry out such assessment.

This article does not constitute legal advice. It is basic information for employers to consider. In order to develop an effective medical examination policy for prospective employees, you should engage the services of an attorney experienced in employment law.

In 2013, Ace Employment Services helped several companies meet their staffing needs. 2014 we are on pace to help even more companies meet their next hire.