to lie on this form when I get to the questions about mental health?

[bintofbohemia]

I need to register with a recruitment agency who need me to fill in a form which wants to know, amongst other things, whether I have ever suffered from anxiety and depression.

I came off a 6 month course of anti depressants in January after being diagnosed with PND - although actually it could have been more to do with the fact that I just hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time in over ten months (not an exaggeration) and also had an awful lot of family problems.

I also had depression ten years ago after leaving uni, struggling to get a job, being cheated on by my boyfriend and losing my grandmother.

I don't see why I have to declare these things, as they were both reactions to fairly extreme situations which I don't forsee happening in the near future (hopefully!) - but lets face it, who's going to employ someone like me if I'm honest about this? I just find it intrusive, possibly even discriminatory and am tempted not to mention it. They would never be able to verify it anyway unless my doctor breached confidentiality rules, surely?

IABU?

WHen I was 19 I was sacked from a job after a week as I made a mistake that led to some money being stolen. (was not me that stole it, forgot to put it in safe) I was suffering from depression at the time and my memory was screwed.
I have never mentioned this job on any application as it is pointless. I made a mistake which has never happened again I always work hard and I have never been queried ever on the job. I also do tend to mention my depression. I put that it's personal and if they want to ask me at interview I will explain.
Don't put it down. You don't need to.

whoever said about ofsted needing to know if a teacher has depression- is total bollocks. I am a teacher and altho i have had depression in the past- only my OH dept know about it and nobody in my school. Dosnt affect my performance in my job at all.

You cannot be 'done' for fraud dor not stating that you've had mental health issues. Fraud is when you gain financially by deliberately tricking/falsifying others. Unless the jobs you are going for specifically exclude those with mental health issues, I wouldn't be worried by not telling. My experience is that even the kindest do raise an eyebrow and make judgements when told about mental health (friends in HR use it as an excuse to pare down applicants). Go for it and good luck.

If at all possible, find another agency that doesn't ask you to provide such sensitive information. Failing that, leave it blank.

I've had a bit of a history of depression too and my work history is quite ropey because of that. I'm currently job-hunting and so far, I haven't been asked (first interview next week [hshock] [hgrin] ).

Obviously if you're going to be working with kids or another vulnerable group there's a responsibility to make sure you're not going to be a danger - I would hope that in that case there was a full, confidential health questionnaire and you shouldn't have to fill that in until you've at least had an interview.

Thanks for all the feedback. Have decided am not mentioning it - and nice to know that it's now ILLEGAL for them to ask so thanks for the links and info there!

Tis barmy to suggest that not mentioning depression is on a par with faking qualifications.

I get that it shouldn't be stigmatised and putting it out there helps to get rid of the stigma. In theory. But I'm not going to "take one for the team" in the name of de-stigmatisation when it comes to getting a job, because lets be honest, people do judge and will take it into account.

Thanks for helping me decide!

@johnthepong: Glad to hear OH depts still exist. Nobody else had mentioned them so I wasn't sure. Do they have OH in the private sector?

bintofbohemia - that's really interesting ... can you post the links please? :)

links to change in law here as posted by shouty Colourful upthread.

TY, I somehow managed to miss the whole of page 2 [hblush]

Do not declare it. You will be discriminated against. I have been on interviews where such facts have been known- well if someone else is equally qualified you will not be offered the job.

We once hired someone who told me as soon as she had taken the job she was under the care of a psychiatrist and was off sick on the day she came for interview. Frankly if she has made this known, my boss would not have employed her. I cannot say I blame her for not disclosing as hard as it made my job when she was off work for over 10 weeks-the truth is employers do not want people who have a higher risk of being off sick as it does make everyone's lives harder who have to cover, as sympathetic as I am to people who suffer with depression- the harsh reality is that people may be sympathetic but they will rather not give you the job.

DO NOT DECLARE IT.

Will see about updating the recruitment stuff then. But where does this leave those who claim a disability and who are entitled to an interview if they meet the minimum criteria on the job spec. By the way where I work no-one with a disability would be discriminated against.