Mental illness

A Age A-Z Appearance B Babies and childcare Behaviour-based questions Benefits C Credit checks Criminal records D Disability Discrimination Domestic employment Dress code Drug testing E Entitlement to work in New Zealand Ethnicity or national origins Equality F Family status Flexibility G Good employer H Health HIV Honesty I Indirect discrimination Interview J Job advertisements K Kids Knowledge L Liability M Marital status Mental illness Migrants N Non-discrimination O Overweight/obesity P Paid parental leave Partner, spouse or relatives Photographs Police vetting Political opinion Pregnancy Privacy Q Qualifications Questions R Race Reasonable accommodation Recruitment consultants Relatives Religious belief Risk of harm S Sex Sexual harassment Sexual orientation Speaking English T Tattoos Transgender/Trans people Treaty of Waitangi U Union membership Unsuccessful applications V Volunteers W Women-only X Xenophobia Y Young people Can I be asked if I have ever experienced mental illness, for example depression? No, an employer should not ask to be provided with general information about a job applicant’s medical/ACC history but should seek to establish only whether a job applicant has the abilities needed for the job. This includes establishing whether an applicant has any medical conditions or disabilities that might mean the work could not be satisfactorily carried out. Mental illness is part of the definition of disability which is one of the grounds of discrimination prohibited by the Act. Appendix 1, which sets out the prohibited grounds of discrimination, includes the full definition of the meaning of disability. A job applicant should first be made aware of the job’s requirements and then asked about any medical conditions or disabilities that might prevent them carrying out the work satisfactorily. Job applicants who have experienced mental illness often do not disclose that fact because they fear discrimination.