Physical Assessment
Pre-employment Physical Assessment
ExL Physiotherapy & Sports Rehab offers pre-employment physical assessment.
Benefits of a pre-employment physical assessment
If you have been made an offer of employment, the employer may ask you to have a pre-employment physical assessment if the job is labor-intensive or involves physically demanding tasks such as heavy lifting, kneeling, or working from awkward positions, or if it requires a high level of fitness.
This is a normal procedure that is widely used by companies to ensure that you are suitable for the job and to minimize the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. It can identify any physical restrictions from the beginning of an employment agreement so that training can be provided as appropriate. It can also identify any changes or modifications to the workplace to meet the Equality Act.
As a result, it can:
- Reduce injuries
- Increase productivity
- Reduce sickness leave
- Provide baseline data on the health of individuals which helps to identify when a subsequent injury has recovered (i.e. return to pre-injury state)
What to expect?
The assessment conducted by a trained physiotherapist consists of an interview regarding your past medical history and employment history, followed by an evaluation of your performance of a series of work-related tasks. Other areas that may be assessed are balance, heart rate, breathlessness, and lifting capacity.
What happens next?
A written report is provided by the physiotherapist to the employer or referring doctor outlining the assessment findings and recommendations. The findings are compared to the job demands to assist with decisions regarding job placement, task redesign and other risk management strategies. The physiotherapist does not decide whether the person gets the job or not.