Replacing an employee is a costly affair, upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement. It hurts a lot where it matters the most – your company’s bottom line. Not to mention the impact on the morale of the remaining employees.
The below CAP graph puts the figure at 21.40% of the annual pay as the cost of replacing an employee.
Employee Health and Growth.
Healthy employees make 60% fewer errors than employees in poor health.
Advantages of Pre-Employment Health Check ups.
- Improves business performance. Higher employee efficiency and productivity.
- Reduces absenteeism.
- Maintains safety at work place.
- Helps in reducing healthcare cost.
The Employee Hiring Health Checklist for Growth
Pre-employment health checkups have become the norm nowadays. Depending on the requirement, these check ups can be either a standard health checkup, or a custom plan designed especially for each role in your organization.
Whatever the level of investigation, it should involve the testing of the candidate’s cognitive, physical and motor abilities, as well as their emotional intelligence.
- Basic history, BMI, vitals and vision testing.
- Laboratory testing:
- Blood group & RH factor.
- Complete blood count.
- Fasting blood sugar level.
- Urine microscopy and routine.
- ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate).
- Cholesterol (optional).
- Hepatitis (optional).
- Creatinine (optional).
- Radiological examination: X-ray of chest.
- Biochemical tests.
- ECG.
- Elisa (for HIV).
- SGPT (for Liver).
- Ultrasonography (optional).
- Lung Test (optional).
- Drug Screen (optional).
- Test for colour blindness and night blindness.
- Presence of squint for drivers and technical disciplines.
- Test for any progressive diseases of the ears.
- Chest & Respiratory Diseases like TB (Pre-employment check and later at six months interval)
- Additional checks for persons with Ulcers, open sores, etc:
- PUS culture.
- Nasal swabs.
- Glaucoma.
- Proofs of vaccinations. (optional).
The End Report.
The logical end to this Pre-Employment health check up will, of course, be a report which should clearly specify, among other things:
- Personal medical history.
- Family medical history.
- Details about smoking, drinking habits, if any and addiction level.
- Test reports.
- Medical examiner’s summary report with assessment and recommendation.
- Fit or unfit certification.
Some important notes:
HIV/AIDS Testing in India: India has passed a landmark bill recently – The HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, to ensure equal rights for the affected ones, making it illegal to discriminate against such people.
The bill includes provisions which state that an individual is not required to undergo an HIV/AIDS test without their consent. Said individual can also choose not to disclose their status unless they themselves are willing to or is ordered by a court of Law.
Legal Implications: In my knowledge, India doesn’t have any specific law, standard or requirements addressing pre-employment screening. Laws already in place are interpreted to regulate the procedure. It is my sincere advice to seek professional legal advice before embarking on this screening.