Pre-employment Physical Examination

If you have just cleared a job interview and the employer has asked you to take a physical exam, there is nothing that you should worry about. This is a normal procedure followed by many companies all over the world.

Organizations just want to ensure that the person they are about to hire is physically and mentally fit enough to perform all his duties in the best possible manner as per his capabilities.

Through this process, companies want to make sure that the job applicant does not pose any kind of threat to the other employees as well as clients. They also want to make sure that the new employee will be productive enough for the organization, and nothing will hamper that aspect, be it mental or physical.

They are also, in a way, trying to minimize any future risks or liabilities that may arise due to the person they are about to employ, by making him take these tests.

This exam completely depends upon the kind of job a person has applied for. For instance, if the job requires an individual to work manually, certain tests may be conducted during the medical exam to check the person's physical ability as well as stamina.

For a pre-employment test, the doctors start with assessing the medical history of a person. This is followed by physically examining the individual. Certain tests such as blood tests, stress tests, etc., are conducted to assess physical as well as psychological health.

These days, alcohol and drug testing are becoming a norm, to ensure that the person to be hired is not into any kind of substance abuse.

This examination process is probably the last step in any job hiring process. So, if a candidate has made it to this exam, and passes it too, his employment is actually confirmed. Such an examination is actually beneficial for both, the employer and the new recruit.

The organization gets to confirm that they are hiring a fit candidate, which the candidate himself goes to a proper check up, and can understand how fit and healthy he actually is.

As per law, an employer who has a minimum of fifteen employees in his organization can ask a job applicant to take this physical exam, only if he offers him conditional employment.

This law was created to ensure that no candidate was discriminated just because he was handicapped or had some sort of other disabilities. With the conditional employment law, an employer can only reject a candidate if the test shows that the person will not be able to do his job well due to some disability.

Another important aspect is that, companies have to keep the results entirely confidential. Under no circumstance can they reveal the results to anybody, except for the candidate or with his permission to a doctor known to him.

By looking at the results of the physical examination, an employer can make an assessment regarding an employee's possible proneness to illness and injury. Any future absenteeism on the employee's part due to his mental or physical shortcomings can be averted too. Thus, this saves a lot of cost and money for any given organization.

As can be seen, a pre-employment physical test as well as employee background check are a win-win situation for the employer, employee, as well as the customers. Employers benefit as they are sure that they are hiring a candidate fit to do his job well. For the employee, a physical exam is a guarantee against any sort of employment discrimination.

For the customers, it is beneficial in the sense that they are in safe hands. For instance, a firefighter is hired only after a thorough physical examination, which ensures that only the mentally tough and physically fit are hired, which in a way is good for everybody in the society. Thus, physical examination is a must, as it benefits everybody.