Retuning to work, new job , do I say iv had cancer?

Hi Johny,

An interesting question and one I can't recall having been raised here during my time on the forum.

Perhaps the type of work you are applying for and your experience may have a bearing on this. It may be that an employer has to have a public liability insurance cover on it's employees and that it's insurers require medical history of potential employees. Certainly, there has been a lot of employment legislation over recent years with rights for both employers and employees. But would it be an advantage for you to disclose your medical situation initially, because these days one often has to go on a 'short list' ? My only thought is to get some advice from a Job Centre on this. They are in touch with a range of employers and would likely be best placed to know, as they even help some people with their CV's.

Do let us know what advice you receive as this may help others in a similar situation to yourself.

I always believe in the truth mate , unless you really don't care if they find out later and no sick-pay / bad future reference etc.
And yes it may actually go in your favour. Having said that , I recently applied to be a dinner " lady " haha at the school I already read at and am well liked at , and I told them the truth. Admittedly I'll probably have further treatment this year , so I was rejected :-((.

Hi Johny

As the others have said, you have to answer truthfully if asked but generally they can't ask too many personal questions, and as Sandra mentioned PCa is not a disability. They cannot discriminate against you having/having had cancer - but you wouldn't necessarily want to shout about it in an interview in the same way that a smoker and heavy drinker isn't going to disclose his lifestyle habits.

If you have any issues that would affect your ability to do the job as described, then you should disclose it. In practice, unfortunately, most people don't.

Good luck with the job hunt.

Chris

I work in education and we would be crucified if we sought medical information before issuing an offer of employment. We can't even ask on the application form how many days you had off in the previous year.

We do have an equal opportunities form. On that, you can declare if you consider yourself to have a disability. Members of the interview panel are not supposed to see that information. So this is the first problem - how confidential is the information on an equal pops form in any given organisation?

The second problem is establishing continuity of employment. In education, we need to track your employment record since you left school. It's needed for child protection reasons. So, at interview, I would really quiz you on why you had been out of work, what you had done to find work etc. I think in that context it would be difficult to hide your medical history. So I would want you to reassure me as best you could that I wasn't taking on someone who was going to be an attendance problem. However, I would expect you to drive that conversation as I might be on dodgy legal grounds if I quizzed you. Remember, seemingly healthy people with perfect attendance records can suddenly find they have cancer. I hadn't had a day off in 11 years and then discover I have prostate cancer. An enlightened employer would understand that none of us know what the future holds. I have employed seemingly reliable people who turned out to be the employees from hell. I also employed someone who had had cancer and she was a total asset to our organisation. The other thing is, if I as a potential employer know you have had cancer, I will be very careful if I don't offer you the job to have very good reasons why you're not being offered the job in case you accuse me of discrimination. That's sadly a reflection of the times in which we live.

Thirdly, what about references. I've had references from well-meaning referees stating things like, 'Bob is an inspiration. His brave fight against cancer demonstrates his resilience and determination and I am sure he will be an asset to your organisation.'

Once I have offered someone a job, they then fill in a medical form. If there is something on the medical form that causes me to think that a person isn't fit for the job, I can refer them for an independent assessment of capability. I as the employer am more likely to be told that I have to make reasonable adjustments - it is possible for the independent assessor to state that the job offer should be withdrawn but I've never actually seen this happen.

Of course, I work for the government and we stick to the rules. Smaller employers may not even fully understand employment law.

If I were you, I'd contact Macmillan or the Citizens Advice Bureau for advice.

W

Whoa -

The Equality Act 2010 made it illegal for employers to ask about health, sickness absence, disability etc before you have been selected as the preferred candidate. It is also unlawful to ask a previous employer/referee about your health and attendance until after you are offered the post. Once you have been offered a post you have a duty to answer any health questionnaire honestly and they can withdraw the offer or dismiss you if you lie.

Cancer is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act so they would have to be able to prove that having had cancer in the past (or the side effects /drugs you are still dealing with) would prevent you from fulfilling the job requirements and that there are no reasonable adjustments they could make to accommodate you.

Ulsterman, you are right that schools, colleges and local authority employers are far more up yo date with this stuff than most but there is one important exemption ... schools are permitted to ask these things about teachers due to an exception in the legislation (although few have the confidence to)

Edited by member 03 Jan 2017 at 09:46  | Reason: Not specified