Workers refusing annual medical exam --[Reported by Umva mag]

Some workers are refusing to undergo the annual physical exam (APE) for various reasons, including those who claim they work from home. What can we do about this? Can we impose disciplinary action? — Half Moon

You can do many things to force or persuade workers to undergo the APE, including the last option of disciplining them. But first, you have to understand what makes it difficult for them to undergo the APE. For one, it’s a bother to visit a designated clinic, which is usually some distance away from the office.

While excuses like fear of needles are flimsy, another issue is the time involved in visiting a clinic. Employees could be spend as much as a half day doing so. That’s why many companies allow their workers to claim such visits as compensable time.

In some companies with hundreds of workers, the human resource (HR) department can arrange for a mobile clinic to be sent to its headquarters to accommodate as many employees as possible. You must overcome such basic challenges.

Organizations, big or small regardless of the nature of their businesses, cannot do without an APE. It’s a legal obligation and responsibility of all employers to ensure safe and healthy working conditions. This is outlined under Articles 156-161 of the Labor Code, which requires employers to provide medical and dental services to their workers.

All workers regardless of their employment status, job title, nature, and place of work must undergo APE. That means those working from home or doing field work are not exempt. It’s the job of employers to force the issue to ensure that their workplaces are free from unsafe and unhealthy workers.

In doing that, employers must observe the following requirements:

One, APE must be done after one year of employment. Consider that new employees have undergone their pre-employment examination preparatory to their onboarding. As such, new hires should be scheduled for their APE on the anniversary of their hiring.

Two, APE as a condition for availing of medical benefits. With or without a health insurance plan, like those offered by a health maintenance organization (HMO) or a preferred provider organization (PPO), employers should require an annual medical exam as a precondition before they can avail of medical, dental, and hospitalization benefits.

Three, APE ensures the protection of all workers. It works both ways. It helps promote the company by guaranteeing a safe and healthy work environment where illness do not deteriorate or infect others, including customers.

Four, APE must not be used as a discriminatory tool. Regardless of the employee’s medical results, including those showing drug abuse, alcoholism, sex-related disease, or any mental health issue, such employees must not be treated like second-class citizens.

Further, any adverse medical result should not result in the transfer of a worker to an undesirable task, location, or any unpleasant work environment to force a resignation.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Assuming that you’ve already exhausted all friendly and persuasive means to get workers to undergo the APE, what can you do? That’s the time to proceed to disciplinary measures as outlined in your company’s code of conduct (CoC).

Unfortunately, you may not find a specific provision against people refusing to take the APE in your CoC, if we go by the hundreds of company policies that I’ve read, reviewed, and revised.

If this is the case, your option is to charge the employee with either simple or gross insubordination depending on the circumstances of each case and as defined by the CoC. It’s simple insubordination when the act of an employee consists of mere refusal without a valid reason to undergo the APE.

It becomes gross insubordination when a worker uses foul language or acts disrespectfully against the employer, line managers, or the organization as a whole.

Another possible provision that you can use to charge employees is the policy on disobedience or misconduct. Read your CoC to discover its exact definition. In the event that your CoC fails to contain any provision on simple or gross insubordination or even about employee misconduct, the next best thing for you is to consider labor jurisprudence.

One notable case is that of Villanueva vs. North Star Manufacturing Corp. (G.R. No. 127731). Specifically, the Supreme Court ruled “that medical examinations required by the company for legitimate business reasons, such as ensuring the health and safety of its employees, do not constitute a violation of the employee’s right.”

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