Declaration of Mental Health Conditions in Pre-employment Medical Examination

Ms Raeesah Khan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) under the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) Guidelines, whether employers are prohibited from asking job applicants to declare their mental health conditions in pre-employment medical examination forms unless there is a job related requirement; and (b) what are the criteria used to evaluate the reasonableness and legitimacy of job-related requirements that allow employers to require job applicants to declare their mental health conditions.

The Member may wish to note that the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP), which is available online, states that employers should "ask only (for) information relevant to assessing an applicant's suitability for a job". TAFEP's website further elaborates on the principle of merit-based hiring by explicitly stating that "companies should not ask job applicants to declare personal information such as their mental health condition unless there is a job-related requirement".

In assessing complaints, TAFEP will ask for the employers' rationale for requiring information on mental health conditions. We adopt a holistic approach and take into consideration all relevant factors before arriving at an assessment.