Can having a mental health record affect your employment?
When we ran our talk on ‘Navigating Mental Healthcare in Singapore’, some of the most frequently asked questions had to do with concerns around the confidentiality of one’s mental health records.
Here are just a few of the questions we received:
How private are mental health records and who can request for access?
Can employers request for our mental health records?
Can the government access our records if we use public mental health services?
Can having a mental health record affect our employment?
How do you think the question of mental illness history in job applications affects a person’s chances of getting employed?
Can I choose not to disclose my mental health history in terms of employment?
There’s a common undercurrent in these questions: plenty of people are afraid to seek help for their mental health because they’re afraid it will affect their employment status or prospects. These are not unfounded fears, as stigma against mental illness still exists. In a 2016 survey run by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), more than five in 10 respondents said they were “not willing to live with, live nearby, or work with a person with a mental health condition”. However, progress is being made. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) updated its guidelines to employers in 2019, stating that asking job applicants to declare their mental health condition without good reason is discriminatory. Not abiding by TAFEP guidelines can make companies liable to enforcement actions by the Ministry of Manpower on the grounds of discrimination. If you have been unfairly discriminated against due to your mental health or come across a job application form that appears discriminatory, you can report it here.
Who can see my mental health records?
To clear up the big question, employers or potential employers cannot see your mental health records, whether you go through the private or public healthcare system in Singapore. Mental healthcare records are kept confidential from the government and from insurance companies as well, and they cannot request for your information without your signed consent due to data privacy laws. The only ones able to access your healthcare records are healthcare workers.
During our talk, Dr Benjamin Cheah, Consultant Family Physician, National University Polyclinics, confirmed that for all public healthcare services, there is a unified platform that allows healthcare workers to access a certain amount of information, for example, which hospital a patient has been to and the medication they are on, but they won’t be able to see the actual diagnosis. Dr. Daniel Kwek, Senior Consultant, Psychiatry, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, added, “Even among doctors, if the patient is not under your care, you are not supposed to access a patient’s file.”
Can I choose not to declare to my employer that I have a mental illness?
According to TAFEP’s guidelines, the only exception where employers can request for your mental health history is if it is a “job-related requirement”. If an employer lists hiring requirements related to mental health, the onus is on the employer to prove that the grounds for doing so are necessary and not discriminatory. For example, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) does require enlistees to inform the SAF if they have a mental health condition or a record of mental health issues on the grounds of whether they are mentally able to handle live ammo and weapons. A common misconception is that Government Agencies like the Ministry of Education (MOE) also have mental health as a job-related requirement, but since 2017, the Public Service Division has removed all declaration questions regarding mental health from job application forms.
Thus, unless there is a legitimate job-related requirement, you do not have to declare your mental health condition to your employer.
If fear of others finding out about your mental health records is stopping you from seeking professional help for your mental health, we hope that this article has given you the confidence to proceed with seeking the support that you need.