Do I legally have to declare that I suffer from depression when I am applying for a job?
The reason I ask is that I don’t want to on the grounds that it is none of their business and also something like 75% of employers would rather employ somebody with a criminal record than somebody who has a mental illness.
I do not have any medication nor do I see a psychiatrist so I suppose I could claim I wasn’t. I do not believe my illness has any baring on my ability to do a job and if I thought it did I wouldn’t be applying for that job.
If you aren’t being treated for it, and it’s not affecting your job, then you shouldn’t have to disclose it.
For myself, I’m always upfront about it. While it doesn’t “have any bearing on my ability to do my job,” it does affect how I interact with my co-workers. Sometimes I get snappish, or unusually quiet, or obviously depressed for no readily apparent reason. The people who work with me have a right to know this - if I keep this fact to myself, others may get upset or offended, or worried about me, but if they know this may happen, they’re more likely to take it in stride.
FWIW, I personally refuse to be ashamed of my “mental illness.” Depression runs in my family (my father has been treated for it in the past, and my sister has an ongoing problem with it, as do I). I don’t see why a depressive should be stigmatized any more than a diabetic, or a hypertensive or an asthmatic. I find that educating people about my condition is much more effective than trying to hide it.
IANAL. But I’ve done training for conducting interviews. They whole area is a legal minefield.
As I understand it, you are not obliged to tell your potential employer anything. But they might ask and you’re not allowed to lie.
However, when it comes to disabilities, they are not allowed to use this is as a consideration when deciding not to employ you unless they feel confident that they can defend, in court if necessary, that this disability makes it impossible for you to do the job.
Companies with any sense have a health questionaire as part of the selection progress, but keep it in a sealed envelope that isn’t opened until after the interviews and selection. That way they are protected from any accusations of discrimination during the process. They will steer clear of health/pregnancy/disability questions during the interview, or limit them to very carefully worded questions that all applicants get asked regardless.
Obviously there are also some jobs that there are legal requirements where you must own up things like a criminal record, but in these case you can usually be sure you’ll be asked.
So, unless they ask you about depression you are not obliged to tell them. But if you lie to them about it they probably have a case for dismissing you. However, if they do not employ you because of your depression, you might have a case against them for discrimination.
I think the most important question is: will your depression seriously affect your ability to do that job?
If not, then go ahead.
If it means you will be off sick for several weeks at a time, then you should consider whether that is fair to an employer, particularly if you are applying to a small company, with less staff to absorb the work of absent employees. As Bunnylady points out, the type of job - to what extent you will have to work 24/7 in a close-knit team while your depression is bad, or whether there will be a lot of solo work in your own office - is also relevant.
Ultimately, you want this to be as easy as possible for both you to do the job, and for the employer to employ you. So you need to be fair to yourself and the employer.
I can’t answer the OP, as I am not in the UK, but there’s another question you should ask yourself: Why are you not getting treatment for your depression? There is no reason to remain miserable when there are ways to help, whether it has any bearing on your job or not.
Again, I don’t know about the UK, but in the US it is not permitted to ask about things that don’t have a genuine bearing on job performance. However, interviewers do have ways of getting around this via conversation that might get you to reveal more than you intended to.
IMHO it is a regrettable thing that things like depression or anxiety that may well be either caused or exacerbated by chemical imbalances are so stigmatized. I mean, nobody tells a diabetic to just snap out of it and make some more insulin, whereas people can be very impatient and unsympathetic to mental problems and seem to think that depressed people are somehow choosing to be that way and could be otherwise if they just tried harder. Yeah, right.