Employers and recruiters have been warned to resist questioning candidates about their health due to the introduction of the new Equality Act, which came into force on Friday, by Jo Broadbent, professional support lawyer at Hogan Lovells.

Broadbent told Recruiter: “Although the Equality Act largely harmonises existing provisions, there are some key changes for employers. From last Friday, job applicants should not be asked about their health during the recruitment process. Doing so will make it much harder to defend a disability discrimination claim from an unsuccessful candidate because there will be a presumption that the candidate did not get the job because of their medical condition.

“People with caring responsibilities for elderly or disabled people will also have enhanced rights. For example, it will be unlawful to discriminate against someone because they are ‘associated’ with someone who is disabled — even though the person making the complaint does not have a disability.”