Question asked at interview by manager for adjustment

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colleagues taking notes as it is private medication conditions. ?:o

SarEl

If someone is there taking notes then they are there in a professional capacity - so yes the manager can ask questions in a meeting about a request for adjustments. What benefit did your friend think they gained by only answering the questions asked and not volunteering information that may not have been asked about if it was pertinant?

bobthedambuilder

How can it be private if it is directly affecting his employment?

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As if they purchase the equipment then other employees will be requesting adjustments and they company does not want that to happen.

bobthedambuilder

Your posts really leave us all guessing at what is not being said.

It appears that your friend is not at work because of a condition which, according to him, needs "equipment" to be installed by his employer in order that he can work.

However he appears reticent to discuss that condition and the medication which he takes with his employer. You say he has told his employer "what he could and could not do". Surely it is not up to him to determine that, it is a job for professionals.

In addition, whatever medication he is on, whether it be painkillers or other medication, must surely be declared to his employer, so that they can determine whether he is safe and competent to do his job.

Whether this subsequently becomes common knowledge in the company is a completely separate issue, one of confidentiality, which he should take up with his manager. But it is not a reason for withholding information.

t0rt0ise

If it's a large company as the OP says then they should have an Occupational health department and it is they who should assess the employee and advise the employer what needs to be provided for the employee. When I was seen by OH they had to ask my permission to divulge any information about me to the manager.

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t0rt0ise wrote: »

If it's a large company as the OP says then they should have an Occupational health department and it is they who should assess the employee and advise the employer what needs to be provided for the employee. When I was seen by OH they had to ask my permission to divulge any information about me to the manager.

That's what I though, the manager was going to make assessment on the basics of what he told her. Surely the manager wound not make proper assessments on the basic of painkilling tablets was divulge at a meeting them. I feel that should be done with the knowledge of OH or some other medical professional person. Manager also said as GP did not give him any direction on what to do regarding his days at home and this had a bearing on the adjustments that would be made for him.

Yorkie1

OP says that there is an OHA, who his friend saw 2 years ago and has waited a number of months to re-see.

When I have seen the OHA, my manager has never received chapter and verse about what medication I am on or what my diagnosis is. They simply receive information about whether I am fit for work and what adjustments are recommended in order to enable me to perform my job.

Particularly in view of the existence of the OHA, I don't think it appropriate for the manager to be asking these detailed questions. They are presumably not trained to interpret the answers and it is personal sensitive material. The OHA should be advising properly on the potential impact of medication on job ability / safety.

bobthedambuilder

Just say for instance that the medication which was not being disclosed affected a person's competence to operate machinery. How could that not be important, indeed essential, for the employer to know?

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bobthedambuilder wrote: »

Just say for instance that the medication which was not being disclosed affected a person's competence to operate machinery. How could that not be important, indeed essential, for the employer to know?

No machinery involved or driving or anything that would endanger him or his colleagues or public. Why did the manager wanted to know this information to make adjustments, I feel it was a case of them bullying him. :mad::mad:

Yorkie1

bobthedambuilder wrote: »

Just say for instance that the medication which was not being disclosed affected a person's competence to operate machinery. How could that not be important, indeed essential, for the employer to know?

I don't disagree with your point. Something like medication can be vitally important for job effectiveness at the very least, and safety at most.

But the employer is not a medically trained person - that is what OHA is for. The OHA advises the employer on the specific impact of medication, adjustments to e.g. the job description or working hours (i.e. dependent on time taken for effects to wear off) etc.

My point was that it isn't appropriate for the manager to a) know the name of the medication, or b) investigate / interpret the answers. They should take advice from the medical person.

For example, if the manager was told by the employee that they were taking medication X. They googled the medication and made an assessment of risk without full information, or without fully appreciating the information. They make an employment decision (e.g. to sack the employee, or to allow them to use certain machinery) based on their own ill-informed research.

The first question, if a lawsuit follows for whatever reason, is "Why didn't you use OHA when it was available and had been requested by the employee 8 months previously?".