Businesses urged to remove health questionnaires before Equality Act enforced

19th July 2010

The companies in the UK currently using pre-employment health questionnaires as a matter of course - some 65 per cent - have been urged by legal experts to stop this practice before the Equality Act is enforced.

Head of employment law at firm Pannone Jim Lister noted that asking questions regarding a person's sickness record could also be against the law, while discovering whether an applicant can take selection assessments - including fitness tests - is exempt under the legislation.

"The penalties for employers include investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the reversal of the burden of proof," he said, adding that this means it will be assumed that employers have discriminated "unless it can [be shown] there was another reason for non-selection".

A study by the organisation found that 48 per cent of companies insist candidates complete health questionnaires prior to job offers being made, suggesting that many enterprises will have to review their barrier-free procedures.

This comes after Acas launched a new guide to help corporations implement barrier-free polices when the Equality Act comes in.

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