Ask questions about their ability to do the job in question. Leave the medical stuff to your pre-employment medical.Need some tips please, on acceptable questions to ask at an interview.
can I ask if the person has any medical problems that I should be aware of?
Ask questions about their ability to do the job in question. Leave the medical stuff to your pre-employment medical.
You can ask whatever you want, you just can't discriminate
Complainer, you are still thinking big company. Poor DavyJones just wants someone to do a bit or paperwork for a day so each week. Do you think the average company in Ireland has a 'Company Doctor' and sends their potential employees for a medical? Anyway, even if the 'Company Doctor' finds any health problems the company would be on very shady grounds to turn down the employment offer, unless it can be proved that it directly effects the safely of the employee or their co workers in performing their duties.
That's very wrong.
Ask a woman if she plans to have children and see how quickly you find yourself in front of a tribunal.
Fair point, though I do recall doing a pre-employment medical from one small (25 people) Irish company in the dark days of the 80s.Complainer, you are still thinking big company.
Are you telepathic?Poor DavyJones just wants someone to do a bit or paperwork for a day so each week.
Agreed, which is why an doc experienced in occupational health matters is preferable to the local GP for these medicals. And the doc should have a job spec or similar to ensure they understand the requirements of the job.Anyway, even if the 'Company Doctor' finds any health problems the company would be on very shady grounds to turn down the employment offer, unless it can be proved that it directly effects the safely of the employee or their co workers in performing their duties.
To address issues that you intend to make provisions for, ask the relevant questions AFTER the person has taken the job, not at interview stage. That way you can't be accused of discriminating based on the information provided.I ask about the medical thing, because I had a staff member who had a fairly serious condition that I only found out about when they collapsed on a job. Don't really want to be in that situation again. Atleast if I know provisions can be made.
The employer has an obligation to provide any 'reasonable accomodation' for a person with a disability, though I'm not sure if colour blindness meets the definition of disability from the Employment Equality Acts. I'd wonder if there was any alternative way of doing these tests which didn't require use of colour. About 8% of Irish men are red/green colour-blind.Sometimes a lot depends on what type of job and what type of working environment. I work in a laboratory. In the interview for my first job, I was asked at the interview had I any medical problems that my prospective employer should be aware of.
He told me the reason that he asked the question was because he regrettably had to let a previous employee go, because of a minor medical condition. There are can be very subtle colour changes in test tubes at the end of some chemical reactions, that tell you that the reaction is complete. Unfortunately, the previous employee was just slightly colour blind, (which wasn’t detected in his medical examination) and he was unable to see the subtle colour changes, and therefore he wasn’t able to do this particular laboratory job.
In these circumstances, I thought it was fair enough at the time for the prospective employer to ask me about colour blindness, etc.
TrueIts not wrong.
As i said in my post, asking those questions leaves you open to a case.
It is not illegal to ASK the question, it is illegal to discriminate based on the answer (assuming its under one of the nine grounds). The issue with asking the question is that its very difficult to prove you didn't discriminate and so you are likely to lose any case that may be taken against you. Anyone with any sense wouldn't risk asking it but i was merely pointing out that while it would be stupid, it is not illegal to do so.
Its not wrong.
As i said in my post, asking those questions leaves you open to a case.
It is not illegal to ASK the question, it is illegal to discriminate based on the answer (assuming its under one of the nine grounds). The issue with asking the question is that its very difficult to prove you didn't discriminate and so you are likely to lose any case that may be taken against you. Anyone with any sense wouldn't risk asking it but i was merely pointing out that while it would be stupid, it is not illegal to do so.
True