The Power of Less: Privacy Considerations Around
Employment Medical Assessments
Many organisations require successful recruitment candidates to
undergo medical tests to determine their fitness before being given
an employment offer. As a prospective hire seeking opportunities
with an organisation, the rigour of the various stages of
assessment ends with a sigh of hope or relief upon receiving a
request for medical assessment from the organisation.
While it is a common practice to require candidates to undergo
these medical assessments, what defines the scope or extent of
legally permissible assessments? How much data would constitute
crossing the line? Can an organisation actually rely on consent of
the candidate as a basis for this? Is it ideal for an organisation
to get such robust medical information because they possibly can,
in a bid to safeguard the vital interest of a potential employee
when eventually employed? Similarly, given that some
