Letter to employee - health questionnaire

If you have concerns over an employee’s fitness to work, you may want them to complete a health questionnaire. If so, issue a covering letter to explain exactly what’s happening and why.

Letter to employee

There may be circumstances where you want existing employees to complete a health questionnaire. A good example of this is where they are engaged in safety-critical job roles and there are fitness to work issues, e.g. a fork lift truck driver suffering from blackouts. However, your employees may view them with suspicion and refuse to co-operate. As a means of reassuring them, you could use a Letter to Employee - Health Questionnaire.

Content of letter

This letter sets out the purpose of the questionnaire and confirms that the information will be stored in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation. The letter can also be used to remind your employees that they have a statutory duty under s.7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to assist you in complying with your legal obligations. Whilst you can’t use this section unreasonably, you should succeed where you can show that there is a genuine need for co-operation. In this case, the link between fitness to work and the welfare of those in safety-critical jobs (and their colleagues) should suffice.