To think DD shouldn't have to declare her epilepsy on job application

[PoppingGlitter]

Sorry this is a more WWYD.

DD (20) is applying for an internship at a Government department (not in the UK) she has been asked this "Do you currently have, or have you ever had, a medical condition caused by gradual process, injury, illness or disability that could reasonably be expected to affect your ability to carry out the work of the position applied for; or which could reasonably be expected to be aggravated or contributed to by the work of the position applied for?"

She has to undergo a medical examination if she gets the job.

DD is concerned that if she doesn't state she is an epileptic and it is discovered during the medical examination she will be declined. But then she doesn't want to be discriminated against either.

But if she has been seizure free for nearly a year surely she shouldn't have to mention it?!

Aargh...

that could reasonably be expected to affect your ability to carry out the work of the position applied for; or which could reasonably be expected to be aggravated or contributed to by the work of the position applied for?

What kind of work is it? Will she be expected to drive? Desk work?

She needs to declare it.
I would like to think a government department woukd preach what they pray and not discriminate.

I think there is every chance she could get sacked for lying on an application form.

What are disability descrimination laws in the country? Can any local charities advise?

Is there a local union that could advise?

I mean it depends on the position. And her symptoms. If she had only been seizure free for a day and it was flying fighter jets, obviously disclose! But it sounds as if her epilepsy is pretty unlikely to affect her work so she could not put it on the form.

A year isn't that long - she definitely needs to disclose is.

I would put supporting info about being seizure free for a year.

I would think, that as Government dept, they won't discriminate.

Best wishes.

You are not legally required to declare a disability.

Its a desk job in civil service, so I mean god forbid if she did have a seizure its not like her life would be in danger if she say fell of her desk chair.

It seems so unfair, they could discriminate even though it is extremely unlikely she will have a seizure.

I am in NZ by the way, there is no specific disability discrimination legislation (unlike the UK), only a Human Rights Act that's 30 years old...

What country are you in? I would say it. I can’t think of any reason why it would stop her getting the job, especially if she has been seizure free for a year.

You need to get on to the NZ Human Rights Act. It'll be OK, I imagine.

www.govt.nz/browse/law-crime-and-justice/human-rights-in-nz/human-rights-and-freedoms/

Give them a call. Don't lie.

Now you’ve said it’s NZ I know why I’ve seen that clause before. It must be quite common as I had to answer that one. Your DD’s application is for an internship role and the question is standard. I wouldn’t be too worried about discrimination.

My advice, from a fellow NZer, is to declare it and say that whilst she has the condition it Is well controlled. She should say that given that she hasn’t experienced a siezure in such a long time there is no reason why it could be expected to interfere with her ability to reliably do the job.

They may ask to confer with her doctor but if what you say is correct then the GP report won’t say any different.

Good luck to her in her application.

Often having a disability automatically gets you an interview (as the Government is seen to want to hire people with disabilities) so it actually might go in her favour.
The civil service has a pretty good record on stuff like this, they want to know what reasonable adjustments need to be made.

Sorry just seen you are NZ! My answer is no use

In the UK, you cannot be forced to declare. NZ - no idea, sorry.

So in the UK the information you provide including ethnicity and religion are submitted separately to the applications, so they shouldn’t be linked. It’s so they can say ‘we’re very diverse and have had many applications including candidates from the raving looney mister party’ Etc not so they can pick and choose whose the healthiest/gender/skin colour.

I would be honest in her place.

Context: a former colleague of mine had (badly controlled) type 1 diabetes which he did not disclose. Which meant that when we found him unconscious, we didn't realise that it was a hypo. Fortunately the paramedics sorted him out. Once we knew about it, those of us who worked closely with him were made aware of the symptoms of hypos and hypers and how to respond. But he also worked out with our boss and hr strategies for better managing it at work. Some of these were basically lone working strategies and taking breaks which should be general policy anyway.

It's also important to be aware of the potential effects of stress on longterm conditions, so this can be monitored.

I think you need to tell them. If he had a seizure at work, they need to know.

I don't think she needs to declare at this stage because the condition would not reasonably be expected to affect her ability to do the work nor to be aggravated by the work. Later if there is a medical the matter can be discussed but at this stage the reasonable expectation is that her condition would not affect her ability to do the work.

She needs to tell them. Saying that she won't die by falling off her office chair is not a good example. If she hit her head on the way down, death is a possibility. I worked with a guy who had seizures. He had 3 on the shop floor, including one that was very severe. His condition was known, but the only person on the staff who had seen a seizure before was me and luckily I was close by each time. Epilepsy is often not covered by general first aid courses, but if the condition is known about, then the first aider can learn what is best practice to do. All three times my colleague had a seizure, he could have hit his head very badly on the floor had I not been there. The managers, and especially the first aider manager, were as much use as chocolate teapots!

Government agencies tend to discriminate in favour of people with disabilities.

I don’t know how different it is in NZ, but I work for a local authority in the UK and questions like this are firstly to help identify individuals who will get an automatic interview due to criteria, and secondly so that the employer can make reasonable adjustments to help support the employee to be able to work without their condition being a barrier.

Good luck to your DD x

As Javagrey states the question you've quoted refers to conditions which would affect or be aggrieved by the work she's applying for.

So the question isn't asking her to disclose epilepsy for a desk job, and it's not lying not to mention it because the true answer to the full question is no. Unless her epilepsy has been triggered by stress (exams perhaps) in any kind of equivalent context in the past.

She should mention it at the medical or before taking up the post if having a seizure at her desk is a possibility but that doesn't mean it's the answer to the question you quote in the OP.

Presumably it's a standard question on all local government application forms and it's very broad - some jobs will involve driving or have a physical aspect, some disabilities or conditions will need adjustments made to the work environment, some conditions are genuinely incompatible with some jobs for safety reasons.

It depends. Could it ”reasonably be expected to affect your ability to carry out the work of the position applied for; or which could reasonably be expected to be aggravated or contributed to by the work of the position applied for?" or not?

I have epilepsy. I don’t think I’ve ever declared it on a job application because it is well-controlled by medication and doesn’t generally impact my ability to do any jobs I’ve ever applied for.

*aggravated not aggrieved

I've got epilepsy too. I'm in my 30s and have applied for 2 jobs since I was diagnosed, both with a city council. I had similar worries. I did declare it both times and got both jobs.