Do I disclose?

[EE1980]

Hi

I've been offered a job. Really fought to get it and this one doesn't come up often if ever.

Pre-employment health assessment. Questionnaire is from an independent occupational health company.

Questions state "have you ever been treated for" and list includes many ailments including (in one tick box) "depression, nervous breakdown, anxiety".

So more than 10 years I had depression and a drink problem. Didn't receive treatment for drink. Received antidepressants. Not drank for 10 years or been on tablets for about 6 years (and that was following giving birth). I don't suffer depression or anxiety or been to doctors in 6 years.

I want to be honest because I know if they find out you lied it will be dismissal. Same time - if am honest and occupational health ask to see medical records they'll look bad in black and white and this info could be passed to HR Manager who'll either decide to withdraw the conditional offer or look at me differently.

I know lots of people suffer from depression. It's a desk based job so no adjustments needed and I haven't had depression for years.

I would prefer not to disclose this.

a refusal to release your medical records, whilst your right, will look dodgy AF at any point in future.

I refused to release them when applying for my current job. Didn't look dodgy and wasn't held against me. Remember that medical records contain information that far exceeds whatever is asked in the form and not everyone wants to disclose it all to the company! And everyone is well within their right to decide what personal information they want to disclose.

Thank you! Will HR (who I'll be advising) be told please? Or will they just receive a report saying "fit for role"

It's for a public sector job. The majority of us either have had treatment for anxiety/depression, are having treatment for anxiety/depression, or should be having treatment for anxiety depression. Really won't make you stand out. If the main commentary on the alcohol problem was in your maternity file, then the betting is actually pretty good that there's very little in the GP record. I've never yet worked in an area that had a decent mechanism for getting info from maternity records back to the GP records...

I ticket the box for a hearing problem. All they wanted was details so if I try to sue them I. The future they can prove I had it before I joined. That was public sector. They are more interested in lying than your history.

I suppose something to bear in mind: is it for insurance, or is it a matter of blackmail / reliability (eg as part of security vetting)? If the latter absolutely do not lie - they will find out. If the former, and they don’t ask about addiction, then there may be no need to disclose.

I think this week is the anniversary of Churchill’s death - ran a country while suffering with crippling depression. Meanwhile, you’re out of the woods with yours!

Ee - they wouldn't be able to get your medical records, at most a report from yourGP. For which you need to give consent

Re maternity records - I didn't disclose alcohol issue to midwife (I'd been sober a number of years before having kids) so they must've got that info from GP. I was also refused life insurance based on info from GP

I disclosed mental health conditions and physical surgeries. I was referred for a call with occupational health who I explained it was all ancient history too. They agreed, didn't want much details and sent a report to HR which simply said I was fit to work. I was told that I could go straight back to occupational health with anything I'd disclosed to them if I ever needed support.

I'd do that for your mental health. I'd leave the alcohol box unticked if you never received treatment for it, that's not deceptive as it's answering the oddly phrased question correctly.

I would be honest. Tick the right boxes and explain you've been in good health the last ten years. Definitely don't lie. I should imagine only hr see that form to ensure you're fit to work right now. They wouldn't be allowed to show it to management. Lots of reformed alcoholics have jobs, it's not the end of the world.

I can only comment on the depression etc box as it's the only one I have personal experience of. I tick it to protect myself from discrimination. Trip to OH, they confirm no concerns about job capability but reasonable adjustments xyz will be required. It wasn't disseminated other than very very minimal detail to implement adjustments. If you don't need anything it would be even simpler, but protect you if any difficulties occurred in future.

My employer would need days if they wanted to read my medical records. I've only ever been asked for consent to contact GP for letter summarising matters. I wouldn't want people I was working with reading my full records either (and not just because some of them contain utter nonsense).

OH didn't read my records, they just "assessed" me and discussed aspects relevant to job. The kind of understanding you'd get from reading someone's records rather than meeting them yourself is a bit questionable. (Outside of work, the best doctors I've seen hold this view...)

Private sector though.

Cheers everyone really appreciate advice

One last thing - it's funny how opinions on this issue are divided

I’m a teacher and have worked for several schools. Have always ticked the depression/anxiety box. Literally never been asked or contacted about it.

You were ill (alcoholism is also an illness remember) and you recovered. Lots don’t. Be bloody proud and hold your head high.

One last question - if tick depression/anxiety/mental breakdown/self-harm/addiction box and OH speaks to me and finds out I'm for job what will report to HR look like please?

In the job I applied for I'll be working closely with Head of HR so they'll be the one receiving the report, deciding whether to carry on with job offer and I'll be working with them possibly on a day to day basis.

If report from OH to them states depression etc then I think their view of me will be different compared to if I'd presented them with no previous mental health issues.

Wowserme
Disclose it but you can always say it was down to the unexpected death of a close relative x

What a ridiculous thing to say Completely undermines mental health issues.

It might be different..... but not the way you seem to think. They might say ok...what can we do if required to help keep an excellent candidate in this job. She will be great.

There are heart surgeons, policemen, all sorts of people who have, or have had , depression. If those people all did not have jobs or were chucked out the country would fall apart much more than it is already. If you are good enough to get offered a job with no evidence of being currenty unfit ,
, then a tick on a bit of paper and a look at by OH.... and I used to be an OH nurse who made these assessments...will be just that... a tick that gets you in then if you need it access to support if you need it.

Thanks tazzle22

I guess I just don't want any colleagues even in HR to know. I'll be advising them and they'll be reliant on me. History of mental health does expose you, make you look vulnerable, not robust which a client may not want.

Also annoys me that this generic questionnaire has likely been sent to everyone. I don't think any thought has been put into whether this questionnaire applies to me - the question mentions exposure to dust and noise etc but I'll be working in an office doing an admin desk based job.

Also the category I have to tick - depression/anxiety/self harm/ eating disorder/addition/nervous breakdown - its wide. I could've suffered one panic attack at age 13 and I'd have to include this information. Or I could've suffered a nervous breakdown and taken 6 months off work.

This is interesting because in that situation I personally wouldn't tick the box, I would assume what the question means is "do you or have you suffered depression recently or such that it will affect your job here". But probably everyone elses advice is better.

Was the depression diagnosed? There is a technicality here imo. You obviously felt very depressed and was given antidepressants but the point that you can make here is that so are hundreds of people. Anyone can go and cry to their GP and be given a prescription. But did anyone actually formally diagnose clinical depression? If not then you don't have to disclose anything. You've never been diagnosed so as far as anyone else is concerned, you don't have it.

I have to put it as I've been diagnosed by a psychiatrist and have on going treatment. The job before this one I hadn't had a diagnosis so I didn't tell them. They get the official truth and anything else is your business imo.

I disclosed anxiety breakdown where I had to leave my job. This was 15 months prior to my interview, and I was still on medication. They just said "make sure you tell us if it becomes an issue again"

I wouldn’t disclose it personally.

I have active depression and anxiety, had it for most of my life. I've always disclosed and its always been ok, I have NEVER had a job offer revoked. I usually have to go and have a chat with OH about coping strategies but that's about it. Like someone said upthread, millions of us suffer, the country would grind to a halt if they didn't let us work.

It'll be fine, good luck with your new job

Just asked DH about this - he works in HR/recruitment. He said write a covering letter, tick the box and add an annotation saying, "please see attached letter."

Good luck

Unless your job requires high level security clearance they won't care. I doubt they'd even ask for your GP records for something as mundane as depression/anxiety. Tick the box, and if there's an "additional information" section put something along the lines of "depression/anxiety 2005-2008 - no longer an issue and no treatment being received".
Good luck in your new job!

Pleasure @ EE1980. I've been on both sides of it.

Only one person should know apart from the OH nurse and thats the person making the job decision. If they think it's ok then they are demonstrating trust in you. No one else should know so that's not relevant.

Hope all goes well