A medical examination known as """"fit to work"""" or ""fitness to work"" is conducted when an employer wants to make sure an employee can safely perform a certain job or task. The goal is to establish if the person can physically accomplish the task or job under the current working circumstances. Fit to work evaluations are most frequently performed to verify medical fitness following an illness or injury, but they can also be requested by an employer or required as a condition of a job transfer after an offer of employment has been made.
How is the evaluation conducted?
Usually, the individual will go to a doctor who will assess whether or not they are fit for that specific employment. The doctor may take into account a patient's cognitive or physical ability, sensory acuity, level of expertise, functional restrictions, etc. Typically, the medical professional will only report one of three conditions to the employer: fit, unfit, or fit with adjustments for the job.
Why would this evaluation be conducted?
To ensure that an employee can work safely and that their condition does not endanger themselves or others, an employer is permitted to request information from a medical expert. The following reasons, among others, could lead to a fit to work assessment: The working environment has undergone tremendous transformation. An employee changes jobs and finds that the new job has very different working conditions. The returning employee's employment has been changed, but she continues to receive physiotherapy, rehabilitation, or both. The health of one of the employees has changed (e.g., returning to work after recovery from a serious illness or injury). A medical issue may restrict, lessen, or prevent a person from successfully executing a new or existing employment (e.g., musculoskeletal conditions that limit mobility). It's conceivable that a medical condition makes performing the work dangerous (e.g., a person may unpredictably become unconscious in a hazardous situation). A medical condition may make it dangerous for the individual, their coworkers, or the general public (e.g., driving is essential to the job but the person is subject to unpredictable and sudden unconsciousness, or a food product inspection by an inspector with deficient colour vision). The employment may worsen the medical condition (e.g., excessive physical exertion by an employee with a heart or lung disorder). from Health Canada's Public Service Occupational Health Program.
Does my employer have the right to request this kind of information?
The employer should not request particular medical findings and diagnoses from the health care provider. If protocols and laws like the Human Rights Code are followed, the employer may request a fit to work assessment for the proper reasons (e.g., the assessment is not used to rule out employment due to a disability). As previously indicated, the health expert normally only gives the employer one of three diagnoses: fit, unfit, or fit with accommodations for the job. The final two ailments could be described as either transient or permanent. But making accommodations is the employer's responsibility. This obligation indicates that the employer must make sure that every effort has been made to change the job, the job requirements, or the working conditions in order to keep the employment relationship in a safe environment for the employee and coworkers. The medical expert's report may, upon request, also give advice on how to help the employee.
How will I find out if the company demands an evaluation?
Assessments are typically requested by the company, though an employee may choose to participate voluntarily. The inspection may be required by corporate policy or governmental legislation when requested by an employer. The process requires the employee's approval. Usually, the company will notify the employee in writing and explain the justification for the assessment. The firm should provide the outside expert with information about the job, the job requirements, and the working circumstances if there is no occupational medical specialist on staff so that the fit to work examination can be conducted appropriately.""" - https://www.affordablecebu.com/
