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Fitness-for-work assessment
Fitness for work is the match between the demands of the job, the worker's functional capacity and the risk the condition creates for the worker and others – not "healthy or sick" but "fit, fit with adjustments, temporarily unfit or unfit".
Why it matters in the exam
The exam presents a worker with a condition (epilepsy, insulin-treated diabetes, heart disease, a mental disorder) and a specific job, and asks for the correct recommendation. The answer turns on two axes: how safety-critical the job is, and how stable and controlled the condition is. Questions also test medical confidentiality – the employer receives a functional conclusion, not a diagnosis – and the principle of reasonable adjustment before exclusion. Items on pre-placement assessment and professional driving recur in almost every paper, so the framework is worth knowing. The occupational physician is not the treating doctor: the role is to judge the match between person and job, weigh the risk to the worker, colleagues and the public, and propose ways for the worker to keep working safely.
Key points
- Fitness is the match between job demands, worker capacity and risk.
- Four outcomes: fit, fit with adjustments, temporarily unfit, unfit for the job.
- Safety-critical jobs require a stable, controlled medical condition.
- Reasonable adjustment comes before exclusion.
- The employer receives functional restrictions only, not the diagnosis.
Summary table
| Outcome | Meaning | When | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit | No restriction | Stable condition that does not affect the job's demands | Controlled hypertension in an office worker |
| Fit with adjustments | Work with changed tasks, hours or equipment | The condition limits only some tasks | Lifting restriction after a disc herniation |
| Temporarily unfit | Removal until recovery or control | Acute or uncontrolled condition | Severe hypoglycaemic episode in a driver |
| Unfit for the specific job | No safe way to perform the job | Real risk to the worker or the public | Uncontrolled seizures in work at height |
| Refer for further assessment | Information missing for a decision | Need for functional testing or a specialist opinion | Exercise assessment before heavy physical work |
A free exam question
בן 55 , עורך דין במקצועו, מגיע לבדיקת רופא תעסוקתי בשאלת כושר עבודה לאחר שעבר ניתוח הסרת משקפיים לפני שבוע, כמה זמן אחרי הניתוח יכול לשוב לעבודה לפי Fitness for work ? (the question as examined, in Hebrew)
- א. יום
- ב. חודש
- ג. שבוע
- ד. שבועיים
In the full version for subscribers
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Sources
- Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Fitness for Work: The Medical Aspects, 6th ed., 2019 — Principles of fitness-for-work assessment
- LaDou & Harrison, CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 6th ed., 2021 — Disability management and fitness for duty
Sources are given for further reading; the text is written afresh and not copied from them.
Reviewed by the Examqo AI Professor · 2026-11-06. The text may contain errors; when in doubt, check the source.