AMS Pre-Employment Health Screening Questionnaires

Full medical screening of prospective candidates for employment, is very expensive and, in many cases, unnecessary. However, most employers can see the benefit of some form of initial occupational health screening for prospective employees and the AMS Pre- employment Health Screening Questionnaire package can provide that service.

Pre-Employment Health Screening is usually undertaken at the request of the employer, with the aim of answering particular questions, such as:

• Is the prospective candidate fit to undertake the job, or subsequent jobs, and not be a hazard to himself or third parties, including consumers of a given product?
• Would long-standing ill-health lead to repeated loss of work and early retirement?
• Would the prospective candidate be fit for transfer/promotion, as a new position could mean changing hazards and different environmental stresses?
• Are there any special factors and statutory requirements relating to a particular work area or post?

Pre-employment health screening will not protect the employer from accidents occurring at the work-place or from absenteeism, but it will enable the employer to be selective in certain areas where he is looking to meet specific standards and statutory requirements.

The AMS Pre-Employment Occupational Health Questionnaires are designed to cover a wide range of questions relating to a prospective employee's fitness for employment and the questions all have some bearing on health at work, e.g. questions on back injuries may be relevant if the work involved a lot of strenuous lifting and carrying; the use of steroids over a prolonged period may cause some people to loose some of their hearing- epileptics may be at greater risk if their work involves driving etc. (See Attachment A).

Benefits achieved by Pre-Employment Health Screening

• The system aims to provide a "medical in confidence" package which enables AMS to assess the past medical history and related events that could affect the employee's suitability for a specific job. Because AMS works with the employer to find out what type of work is carried out within the company, and what conditions employees may be exposed to at work, AMS is in an ideal position to advise about any existing medical conditions which might be affected by the type of work to be carried out by a prospective employee e.g. people who are already partially deaf should have higher protection if they are to work in very noisy conditions and people with asthma need protection against dusts etc.
• There is the possibility that AMS may advise that a candidate be rejected for a job that they may be able to perform regardless of a minor complaint. However, this has to be offset against the possibility of employing and training up a candidate who is, in the long-term, unsuitable or unable to carry out their duties.
• The Company is advertising the fact that they are active in the pursuit of their HAS policy. This may, in some circumstances, act as a first filter in deterring those prospective employees with poor attendance records and related sickness problems. It is also the Company's first line of defence should subsequent health screening reveal problems not divulged by the employee on their Questionnaire.
• The Pre-Employment Health Screening package also provides a baseline medical history, and ensures that the employer is aware of any applicant in receipt of a disability pension and for what reason. In some cases, an employer may be eligible for assistance under the M.S.C. Special Aids Scheme.
• The information contained within the questionnaire is entered onto the AMS mainframe database for future reference and the candidate is allotted a Personal Identification Number (PIN) which is used on all subsequent medical screening programmes.

Invoicing for Pre-Employment Health Screening:

AMS normally invoices the Company on a quarterly basis for the number of questionnaires administered. Invoices state the number of questionnaires and the site to which they appertain and AMS can arrange for invoices to be forwarded to individual sites within a Company, or to a central accounts department, according to the Company's requirements.