declaring "disabled" for a job

so, i dont know whether you have to do this in the US / Canada but I applied for an internal post recently at work and one of the questions was

"do you consider yourself to have a disability?"

Now, the guy I'd e working for knows I have problems, whether he knows specifically i;m bipolar i dont know cos i've not told him.

but i had to answer the question with yes, no or prefer not to answer. so i didn't answer.

I dont' believe i should get a job based on disability though lots of UK companies have a policy of POSITIVE discrimination - if you are disabled you're almost guaranteed an interview - and i hate that. why should me being ill get me a job? I want it based on the fact i can do it with my eyes closed.

Hi Lotus,
I was told recently that the sort of question was illegal in UK. You are not required to answer such questions. The same person recommended that you declare any disability after you have a firm offer. That way you are covered in the event of problems when you are working. That seemed like a good approach to me. I have a feeling that that sort of question will begin to disappear from forms in the future. Good Luck !!

i already work for the company, it was an internal application. they know what's goping on cos i made sure i told them when they gave me a job 18 months ago. nothing has changed, if anything i'm more stable. i just felt like if i said yes then i'd only get an interview because of that

In the US we have the Americans with Disabilities Act that prohibits any question like that, internal or not. You don't know when they ask if it's going to benefit you or hurt your chances. Seems to me the UK would have a similar law. I got fired from my last job after I told them I was BP even tho I did a good job. I have a lawyer that is preparing a complaint with the labor board; if they find in my favor, the employer will have to pay me a settlement.

i got fired from my last job for an episode of depression and they ended up paying me more than half a years wages. but that's not my point. the uk still has this "positive discrimination" thing and i just dont feel i should get a job because of a disability!
besides, im not sure i AM disabled

I always answer yes to that question. I am in the US. I answer it because of my ADHD and techinically they are not allowed to ask about that disability. It is often on job applications because companies get certain funding from the government for hiring disabled employees.

but I want to get a job because I can do it not cos i have a disability!

Well, they wouldn't give you the job if you couldn't do it, right? For every job there are lots of people who are equally qualified, so there is always some determining factor. In this case, they may or may not use disability as a determining factor, but if it's a good job and you're qualified for it, you shouldn't feel guilty about it - you are being offered the job primarily (or wholly) because you can do it.

In the uk we have the disability discrimination act, but, i dont know if ALL mental health problems are covered in the law....

Original poster, if you said no comment or no is anything bad going to happen to you? will you get into trouble even though your boss suspects that you have mental health problems?

my work are fully aware of my mental health problems. after i accepted my current job i had to declare it on a health screening.

they can't force me to tell them at the end of the day. though the guy who's interviewing already knows i have mental health problems so if i'd said yes it wouldn't have made a difference.

at the end of it, i'm sure part of the issue is that i dont see myself as disabled.

i can understand what you're sayin, i wouldn't want to get a job jus because i'm seen to have a disability. I think this positive discrimination is put in place to ensure that anyone with a disability is given a fair chance at an interview, there is no sayin that they are definitely going to get the job jus that they are not discriminated from gettin an interview. I hope this can ease your mind a little.