How Should Company ABC Handle a New Hire's Unfit Medical Certificate?

Dear all,

A chemical company "ABC" has selected a candidate for the position of Manager-Production-'X'. Mr. X is currently working in a chemical company. Company "ABC" has issued him an offer letter, which is valid subject to a medical fitness certificate. Mr. X has submitted his resignation to his current employer upon receiving the offer letter. Now, company 'ABC' has received Mr. X's medical certificate stating that he is "unfit." The HR department of company ABC is of the opinion that Mr. X should undergo a medical test first. Once he obtains a fitness certificate from the hospital, he should resign from his current company.

In this scenario, what should company ABC's stance be? Should they deny Mr. X the opportunity to join their company? Please advise.

Regards

Dear Nrvyas, When the company "ABC" issued the offer letter, they clearly mentioned the conditions of employment. If the applicant failed to meet those conditions, then his candidature was liable to be turned down. Therefore, in the present case, the onus for the rejection of the application lies with the applicant and not with the company.

Responsibility of the Manager

The manager should have shown foresight and taken the required medical test. After obtaining the fitness certificate, he should have resigned. He now finds himself in a catch-22 situation. Although he has resigned from the current company, the future company has declined to hire him. He is ultimately responsible for putting himself in this predicament.

Thank you,
Dinesh Divekar

This seems to be a classic case of a communication gap between the company and the candidate. Was what you mentioned, "offer is valid subject to a medical fitness certificate," actually mentioned in the offer letter? Even if it was, generally, the HR or the agency, if you have one, is supposed to clearly remind the candidates about this aspect.

However, we have always suggested to our clients to release the offer letters only after the medical test results (that take at most 2-3 days). That way, such situations are preempted and embedded into the hiring process itself.

How to Handle This Situation

Firstly, can you clarify the reason(s) for this candidate being declared "unfit"? A recruitment medical test comprises so many tests: CBC, urine, BP, etc. So even if one test fails, technically the medical officer can give an "unfit" report, but for all you know, this could be a urine test that can't be a permanent disability/disqualification. Hope you get the point.

I recollect a case of one of our candidates years ago who was rejected medically by our client, a very big and well-known MNC, after an excellent interview performance. On detailed review, it was found that the medical rejection was due to gross overweight (almost double the acceptable range). He was inducted with a condition that he has to reduce his weight to an acceptable range within 6 months (which he did and is still with them since ~10 years).

Hence, I suggest reviewing this candidate's interview performance. If you find it good (after all, any medical review should be worthwhile), then suggest reviewing the medical report for the exact reason(s) for the rejection. If it's something not very serious, I would suggest inducting him—conditionally, if need be.

Regards,
TS