Most people don’t declare medical conditions at work unless they absolutely have to.

[Grapesandcheseseplease]

I’ve had a few medical conditions since my twenties (I’m now in my forties) which I never declared on work applications or on health checks at work. I haven’t needed any adaptations at work and no one was in danger so I felt that telling them would be pointless and I would face discrimination. In my last job I declared a medical condition and within weeks was pushed out. Speaking to my friends, it seems we’re quite split.

What do you think?
YABU- I have always been honest about my health in (prospective) jobs.
YANBU- I do not declare heath issues unless absolutely necessary.

I had a grievance hearing turned on it’s head and a medical condition which had never been an issue in the role thrown viciously against me, without any evidence or witness to the allegations (and an utterly useless union rep). The result was that I resigned because I didn’t want to work for a company who did that. Even the manager I had the grievance against said it was utterly contemptible.
I also lost another job because I would be ‘impossible to train to meet the new criteria having been absent for so long’ (I spent four months in total, in a burns unit after an accident related to my medical condition, granted I was back for a month in the middle of the 4 months and they knew there would be more treatments. They could have sent me away with training materials) My husband worked there to and walked out the same day that they sacked me, telling them exactly where they could stick their job and their attitude.

I once worked with a woman who asked if I ticked the ‘pity box’ in order to get the job we both had. I asked what she meant. It transpired that was what she called the box that guaranteed you an interview if you have a disability, as long as your qualifications match the criteria. That creeps me out. She seemed to think her disability was an automatic foot in the door if she used it. We have the same medical condition which creeped me out even more.

I tend not to bother telling an employer unless it is a health and safety issue. With my current role I told them when they offered me the job and they were fine, because I had clearly had the condition for many years doing the same role with no issues.

But, yes, ‘it’s illegal to discriminate against a disability’ - really? Don’t make me laugh. Proving that was the reason you were sacked/passed over for promotion it is another thing entirely. I was never given night shifts in one job. They never openly said why but I suspect it was because it was lone working and well…. But they didn’t actually discuss this with me.
My husband has lost three jobs because of his hearing loss and each time other reasons have been vaguely muttered, but his hearing had clearly been a problem that other staff at various levels found hard to deal with.

Discrimination against disabilities in the workplace is illegal? Oh wait, there is the phone it is the RPO asking me to play clarinet with them. That will be after I have fed the unicorn…

I keep my ASD a secret

As a hiring manager I’ve hired two people who hid serious MH problems. One quit within a month due to uncontrollable anxiety, fine. The other causes me major headaches.

If anyone declared MH problems to me at hiring stage again , I would not hire. So similarly I do not declare my issues.

Can you please point me in the direction of an employer who would consider symptomatic epilepsy to be a medical condition that it would be beneficial for an employee to have? Including with that, special treatment for having seizures in the workplace?

Finally, if it is not too much, can you tell me how to ‘play on’ being unconscious and coming round to a bunch of horrified faces, being utterly confused and disorientated, having the headache to end all headaches and urinating yourself.

LOVE to know the answer to the latter.

Perhaps you should?

I have declared to HR after being offered the role. Not before.

If the organisation I want to work for have a problem with that then they are not an organisation I want to work for.

I work for a large international organisation and we are able to disclose medical conditions but they are kept confidential from our line managers etc. I have ADHD and take medication for long term depression. My line
manager definitely knows I have adhd but I work within IT security and almost everyone has “a touch of the ism”. (I mean this as a compliment). I’m not particularly shy about disclosing my depression either. I’ve been very stable for the last 7-8 years.

I have but I have been here 20 years & the health problems have presented themselves over the last year & resulted in a large amount of tests, scans etc that I have to pop out for

This is why some people don’t feel comfortable sharing, because of people like this.

I managed someone with mh issues and supported her. She was fab when she was well and we got to a great place where she was mostly well but did have 3 months off when suicidal. We’re still in touch and I’m super proud of how far she’s come.

My current workplace, she’d have been bullied out. I work with arseholes (trying to leave but convenience and pay keep me). I try to shelter my team but I can only do so much.

This is one of the many reasons I haven’t declared things. Not everyone with conditions wants sympathy or “special treatment”.

This is an awful situation, I’m glad you don’t work for them anymore!

can be job dependent though….If you are a health professional required to be registered with the HCPC, identifying risk and managing your own health forms part of your professional standards and you would be in breach if you didn’t report a health concern or condition that could impact on your work. But the advantage of occupational health ( in the NHS) is that there’s a buffer between you and your employer so OH should disclose only what is necessary for them to know. I would imagine there will be other jobs or professions that have similar requirements for honesty. If you have an office job then fair enough, it’s not going to be necessary to disclose stuff you don’t wish to,

I thinks it naïve indeed not to think that if you do an interview and declare a health conditions ( particularly one of the 'bad ones') then in a trade off between you and similarly experienced applicant with no health issues than they will get the job.
I totally get why people say nothing before they've had a chance to show employers what they can do.

To be fair whilst I don’t have anything visible I’m covered under the disability act. Because there’s a chance that something could occur at work I do declare it, and I’ve not had an issue at any of my employers apart from one. They referred me to OH and my experience of them was not great. A nurse who was OH sat and asked lots of questions, then basically told me I was wrong. Despite having had the chronic illness myself for 25 years. So I asked her for specifics, her full name and relevant registration number and contact details and when she asked why I said I would pass her details to my hospital consultant who was an expert in my illness as clearly she has more experience than him with my illness in her generic role.

Upshot was she actually apologised and said she wasn’t well qualified to comment on my condition so would agree with what I had explained to her. I was quite vexed and it was very stressful and she’d been patronising and obnoxious. But all worked well in the end.

OH are there to protect the company, not workers.

I now work somewhere where disability is embraced and the company genuinely care about staff (and the staff all look after, and look out for each other). Neurodiversity and issues such as struggling with MH or menopause are openly discussed, with regular drop in meetings, as much as physical illnesses are. It’s a true breath of fresh air and every level of staff member is treated the same. And if people don’t want to openly disclose they will let HR know and it goes no further.

I don't disclose my ADHD.

Actually, I do😂
I promised myself that I would never go back there, ever!
Then 20 years later in a town we moved to over 100 miles away, a relief post doing the same role came up. I really was torn about applying after the last time. Eventually I decided to go for it because I really, really love the work and if they turn out to be the same I could just walk away given the position we are lucky enough to be in now.

In a weird way the bastards from my previous run in with that employer did me a huge backhanded favour.
The whole experience previously made me realise the system was flawed and I could provide a better service myself, after resigning I worked for myself teaching for over a decade.
I also decided that no one would ever treat me like that again.

Im relief now, I only work the hours I want to work and I teach, do the associated administration come along to the necessary meetings and that’s it. I’m not doing a job I don’t particularly like in order to spend an hour and a half a day, two at the most, doing what I love.

I was in a similar position to you OP when I was at work.

If asked, I would tell them about my condition. I would not conceal it.

If they did not ask, well that wasn't my problem.

Only one firm ever did. They referred it to the Company medical officer (it was an insurance company) who said it was no big deal. I was with them for 10 years.

I wouldnt tell my employer... unless it was a safety risk. I recently started new meds with side effects that would 100% be a risk in some situations. I told employer about those, as imo it would be negligent not to. Not an office job and could put others at risk as well as myself. But the underlying condition I've not told employer about.