Need advice - unsure if I should continue with new job offer

[lostatsea999]

I accepted a new job but don't know if I am being fair.
Desperate to escape my current position where I am destined for a line I don't really want to do but can't refuse as it was a condition of my employment contract extending
I went to the interview and verbally accepted before I had a 'flair up' of a condition unexpected.

There was no where on the application form to let the employer know of any past medical conditions or past absence within employment, it didn't come up in the interview so now I'm worried this could possible come back on me? I have my current employer on my case about medical appointments as it is so it makes me wonder how unsmart I'd be in taking a new job on right now.

The absence was last year but for a month.

It is local govt who will want to check references.

There is a pre-health declaration form that does allow me to advise of ongoing problems, should I fill this in and wait to hear before resigning the current job.

They can’t ask about health problems in the interview.

The purpose of the pre health declaration form is supposed to be so they can support you but yes being cynical some employers might find an excuse to retract after seeing it.

I think however that if you are dishonest on the form (ie don’t mention the illness) and get found out via reference checks, then that is definitely going to be a good excuse for them to retract.

I think you should be honest on the form, and don’t resign current job till after new employer has reviewed it. Maybe call new employer HR to explain the health issue better and check it isn’t going to cause retraction of the offer (it shouldn’t and they know this so the call is basically flagging you are on alert for any dodgy excuses!)

If the new job is with local government then I would fill in the health form and go from there, they will probably want you to see occ health before starting. Local gov can take a while to sort recruitment so I wouldn’t put my notice in until I had a firm start date (unless your notice is really long or something)

Thank you for your help, much appreciated. Mum took a look at the form and said proceed with caution, I can't believe they nearly tried taking references before I got the pack sent.

I tend to select the 'prefer not to say' to if have disability when it comes to the application form, realised the stupidity of that now. I've kept absence with my current employer as minimal as possible, it was 2 lots of emergency surgery and nothing so recent.

My current employer never had occ health involved, could this be a plus? I just worry all the medical appointments are coming through when they'd planned I might start.

Hi,

They are still insistent on taking reference up front along with receiving the health declaration same time.

I can only imagine it is because it is a year's contract and they were pretty sure in my interview about a start date? but I'm seriously concerned that this could leave me with no job. Unlike other sickness situations I found on trying to search this topic, I cannot offer the employer any guarantee this is end of the matter.

My other concern is that as soon as my notice goes in my current employer gets even more difficult with medical appointments as they possibly can rightly be.

Would you really be ok with someone going for a medical appointment just as the job starts.

I think I'm done for.

Struth, it gets worse they want gcse certificates from 28 odd years ago? for a customer service role at band 3.

The dbs I need to pay for, not made to clear up till now.

The health questionnaire seems to lead me to little more then entering this on to some additional portal and they still want current employer reference in advance.

If you were to turn the job down at this stage, what sort of thing would you write?

Thank you.

Can I just say I've had a change of mind, I would happily say I wouldn't want to work for a draconian organisation (could understand if I'd left school in the last 6 or 7 years on the whole showing of GCSE certs but all these years on, for a job equiv of sitting in another contact centre on a minimum term) but I don't know if this is wise, but this has made my mind up, who am I fooling. I want out of the public sector if I can help it, dealing with the current public sector lot is bad enough for me to see the light.

Are you currently in a permanent role and the new role a 1 year contract?
If this is the case I wouldn’t move to a fixed term role.

Side note if you’re currently in the public sector which it sounds like just an err on the side of caution the private sector is not as understanding of illnesses.

Thank you, you guess correctly, experienced just such sour and petty behaviour after being offered a perm job to the point of regret, I was just so desperate to leave my current role.

Not sure I'd call either sector accommodating.