Intensive care is needed for medical questionnaires

Employers routinely ask job applicants to complete medical questionnaires but, until the recent case of Cheltenham Borough Council v Laird (2009 EWHC 1253), these have not been subject to much legal scrutiny. Laird was recruited as the council’s managing director in 2002. During a series of tortuous internal disputes, she became severely depressed. Eventually Laird stopped working and took an ill-health pension. The employer discovered that Laird had suffered previously from depression but had not mentioned this on her pre-employment medical questionnaire. The council sued Laird for misrepresentation, claiming damages of almost £1 million.