Recruitment can be a costly and resource hungry exercise, however if we don’t get it right and protect our business and employees by implementing pre-employment medicals in our recruitment processes it will often cost us more than what we bargained for. According to session 8 (1) of the Nigeria Labour Law( Every worker who enters into a contract shall be medically examined by a regis‐ tered medical practitioner at the expense of the employer) Pre-employment medicals provide you with a base line benchmark understanding of potential applicants’ medical status for items such as: hearing, eyesight, lung functions and general fitness, in order to ascertain if they are medically fit and capable to carry out the tasks that the position you are hiring for requires of them. This information is vital to ensuring you are not setting someone to fail in a position by employing someone who has a tiny frame with little strength and into a position that consists of heavy manually handling all day long. If you were to do this, it would only be a matter of time before you have manual handling injuries such as sprains or strains and back injuries which would lead to workers compensation claims. Having pre-employment medicals in place sends a strong message to applying candidates that you are serious about their health.

Tips on what to look out for and how to ensure you are doing it legally.

1. Pre-employment medicals should be a part of all business recruitment process, however they should never be the single indicator of why an individual is not successful in a position.
2. Ensure your pre-employment medicals policies and procedures are in line with the AS4811-2006 Employment Screening.
3. Ensure your pre-employment medicals policies and procedures are non-discriminative.
4. Ensure that you screen for health issues that are relevant and exclusive to the tasks and duties being asked to perform, and to conditions that they may be getting exposed to. i.e. if hearing protection is required to be used in the position, it would pay to have a hearing test that includes the frequencies of industrial deafness as part of the pre-employment medical in order to give you a benchmark for any future claims of loss of hearing.
5. If you include a drug and alcohol test as part of your pre-employment medical, ensure your company policies are clear about why you do this testing, how the tests will be carried out, the chain of custody of the results and what are, if any, levels or tolerances that are accepted.
6. Include a functional capacity screening where high levels of physical activity is involved and required in the position. Research has proven that screened employees have a less injury rate that those not screened, and functional capacity screening has lowered the severity of workplace related back strains and other workers compensation costs (Nassau, 1999).
7. Ensure all medical reports are checked to ensure the “Is Medically Fit” box is ticked.
8. Some industries and positions require an annual medical screening to ensure employees are medically fit. For example, truck drivers over 50 years of age. I hope this article has encouraged you to either commence pre-employment medical screening in your organisation or at least improved your current practice. Remember, all medical reports and records pertaining to personal medicals outcomes must be kept confidential.

Why should an employer consider a Pre- Employment Medicals check

Healthy and Fit Workforce
A medical exam enables employers to recruit workers with qualifications that should increase efficiency. Physical fitness and health are requirements you need to join strenuous fields such as firefighting. As an applicant, you must go through a medical test that will determine whether your heart, lungs, eyes, ears and limbs are healthy. This is according to Don McNea Fire School, which trains firemen in Chicago, Los Angles and Columbus, Ohio. Firemen carry heavy equipment, wear heavy clothes and perform rescue missions, making the qualification requirements necessary.
Psychological Stability
Law enforcement careers require applicants to go through psychological and emotional pre-employment medical exams. These exams are vital in establishing you do not have underlying mental problems that may lead to misuse of your power as a state security officer with a duty to protect the citizens. As an applicant for law enforcement jobs, your psychological examination process must be handled by a licensed professional.

Workplace Safety
A drug- and alcohol-free workplace helps reduce carelessness that may result in injuries or death, especially in businesses that involve the use of machinery. Pre-employment medical examination procedures used in screening the use of illegal drugs and alcohol can help you avoid these problems. Dr. David Deam of the Medical Observer notes that urine screening can assist detect the use of drugs such as cocaine and cannabinoids. These tests should be done by a professional to ensure their accuracy.

Public Health Protection
The law allows employers to reject applicants who are suffering from infectious diseases. This is according to the Equal Opportunities Commission or EOC, a statutory body that was set up in 1996 to make employment opportunities accessible to all, irrespective of race, gender or disability. The EOC says that while employers can turn away sick applicants to uphold the protection of public health, people with ailments such as common cold and HIV/AIDS should not be turned away.

Company that offer pre-employment services in Nigeria

1. Radmed Diagnostics Company.
23 Ligali Ayoride Street,
Victoria Island Lagos

2. Path Care Nigeria
1397BTiamiyu Savage Street,
Victoria Island Lagos.

3. Union diagnostic & clinical service ltd.
7/8 Oba Akinjobi Street, Ikeja.

Ayodeji Ajibola
Business Development Officer
ByPlus Consulting Limited
www.byplusconsulting.com