Navigating Pre-Employment Health Checks: Is Hepatitis B a Dealbreaker for MNCs?

Hi Colleagues,

One of my friends has found a Hepatitis B virus carrier through a pre-employment health checkup who was selected for an MNC company. According to the MNC company policy, they have rejected the candidature. If a person carrying HBV can be eligible or if there is any law that will guide this. Is HbsAg a compulsory test for all MNCs? What are the regular tests a company requires as a pre-employment checkup? I request more suggestions on this from all our HR community.

Dear friend,

The medical test was done before your friend joined, so there is no way the MNC can be forced to accept the candidate as he is yet to join. Had this test been done after he is made a permanent employee, then he would have legal recourse. But in this case, as he was rejected before he joined, there is very little hope.

All the best,
Namitabh
9930992663

One of our employees has been found HIV positive during the pre-employment health checkup, even though they had already been selected. According to the terms of the offer letter, their appointment is contingent on them being medically fit for the position.

The question arises whether we can reject this candidate, or if there are any potential government implications involved. What would be the best justification for taking any action?

Please advise.

Rajasekhar

Hi Mr. Malik ji,

Greetings. I have a query in this regard. I am from an MNC. Our recruitment at the entry-level positions is enormous. The reports generation often gets delayed, forcing us to take the candidate in before we get the reports. By the time the report is received, the employee might have finished just 1 to 7 days of service with us. In case we receive a negative report, is it legal to ask the employee to leave?

Usually, many times companies or countries specify the tests required to be done before a candidate can be taken on for a role. If a particular report is very important for the functioning of the job, then the company can rightfully reject the application. As far as HIV is concerned, I feel the person has a legal right to work. It all depends on the nature of the job and the respective country's laws.