Gateways guidance: 9.3 Questions about impairment, health and disability

The interview itself should be conducted in the same way for disabled and non-disabled applicants. An applicant’s impairment at this stage is irrelevant. It becomes relevant only when the applicant is offered a place.

It is not part of the interview panel’s role to assess for possible reasonable adjustments. In general, interview panels are not qualified to do this. To do so could unfairly limit the time available for a disabled applicant to show their skills and qualities compared to that available to other applicants.

Many schools have already adopted the policy that questions about an applicant’s impairment should be avoided during the interview as far as possible and reasonable. Once a place is offered, occupational health staff and the disability officer should discuss with the applicant what reasonable adjustments might be necessary. If the panel feels that it would be odd not to mention a very evident impairment, it might be appropriate to discuss how training would be done, but not what might be impossible. A recent case⁸ in which a disabled applicant was asked questions at interview that were clearly inappropriate for him illustrates the need for discretion.

However, the Equality Act does not prohibit the interview panel from asking questions about the applicant’s impairment, as long as the questions concern:

• the applicant's requirement for reasonable adjustments
• the applicant's ability to meet the competence standards for the course.

A general discussion of the impairment would not be acceptable and might be judged to be discriminatory.

The Medical Schools Council makes it clear that:

1. ‘Medical schools will first consider applications on the basis of academic performance and personal qualities, and at those schools that interview, interviewers will not mention or discuss or evaluate the applicant’s disability during a selection interview intended to assess personal qualities.’