What is pre-placement screening?

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After a job has been offered, and before employment commences, it might be appropriate to assess the candidate’s health in relation to the job role. This gives you confidence that the employee is medically fit for the role before they start, and allows you to put in place any necessary measures to support existing health conditions.

This can be done by online questionnaire screening, or through a face to face medical depending on the risk and requirements of the role and employer.

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The business case

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A pre-placement assessment allows employers to confirm an employee’s fitness for the role and, if pre-existing conditions or special circumstances exist, to identify any adjustments or restrictions that may need to be considered in order to help the new employee work safely and effectively. Having this information before an employee starts work is invaluable as it allows you to make informed decisions and prevent exacerbated ill health down the line.

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Assessments must be relevant to the risks presented by the new employee’s job role, and the questions have to be appropriate.  It is no longer acceptable to send out general health questionnaires to all employees for no justified reason.

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Using an effective OH service to carry out your screening ensures that the data collected is relevant and kept confidential, encouraging the employee to be more open about their health. Being specialists in health & work, we are also best placed to give you relevant, specialist advice about how to manage any health issues in the workplace, taking away the guess work for you and ensuring you have the tools and knowledge to fulfil your legal obligations.

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For roles involving specific health risks, pre-placement medicals can also determine a person’s health at the beginning of their employment as a bench mark against which to compare to subsequent results.  This ‘health surveillance’ ensures that the control measures (extraction, PPE etc) in place are working effectively and allows for early intervention if they are not, and also gives the employer some protection against spurious claims of work-related ill health that already existed before employment began.

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All Health Matters makes the online questionnaire process very simple:

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• You notify us of your new starter and submit their details via our client dashboard

• An online questionnaire – appropriate to their job role -  is sent to the new starter, they submit their answers and the questionnaire is screened

• We release a ‘fit note’ to your dashboard for you to view and download if you wish, and store it there indefinitely for you to access at any time

Pre-placement assessments make business sense because:

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• They ensure employees are fit for the role offered before they start, avoiding unexpected issues arising ‘on the job’ which could endanger the safety of your workers

• You get independent specialist advice about any adjustments that need to be made to allow the employee to work safely

• The onus is put on your OH provider to manage and process confidential medical information, leaving your staff to focus on what they’re good at

• They help protect your business against spurious claims of work-related ill health

Delivery method

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• Online questionnaire screening – followed up by telephone call/video call if required

• Medical assessment at AHM clinic* - Canterbury, West London, East London, Bexhill

• Medical assessment on-site* - minimum charge applicable – best for group bookings

• Medical assessment on-site in AHM mobile clinic* - minimum charge & mobile hire applicable – best for group bookings

Service levels

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We aim to screen questionnaires within 2 days, and 60% of these are screened and fitness certificates sent back the same day.

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We aim to offer a date for a medical assessment within 10 working days at AHM clinics but can usually find appointments the same week.

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On-site or mobile unit bookings can usually be accommodated within 10 working days, but very occasionally during busier periods there can be up to a 4 week wait.