I suffered from severe depression in 2002, this was treated with medication and therapy. Fortunately I was a student so did not take any sick leave. I had fully recovered within about 3 years and had no issues until about 2 years after I stopped taking my medication. I recognised the symptoms and was treated quickly, so once again I took no sick leave. I have remained on SSRIs since 2010 and feel the best I have ever felt. I have just accepted that my body has a tendency to a chemical imbalance.

I agree that if you do not declare your history of depression and this is discovered at a later date you can be dismissed. However, I have just posted a new thread regarding issues which have arisen from declaring depression on a medical questionnaire.

Back in November I accepted a conditional job offer. The conditions being to complete a number of pre-employment checks and to provide satisfactory references. I supplied all the required information and completed all the necessary checks including a CRB disclosure and a medical. The results of these were satisfactory with no recorded issues raised on the CRB and, despite a history of depression, I was deemed fit to work by Occupational Health. My prespective line manager had been keen for me to start a.s.a.p and on a number of occasions said they were looking forward to me joining the team a.s.a.p. I was even invited to the team's Christmas Party. At the start of this month there appeared to be unnecessary delays; firstly a reference, which I was assured would be issued prior to Christmas, was apparently not received until the first week of January. Once received, I was told we were waiting for the line manager to clear my references and other documentation. The line manager then went on sick leave for a couple of days. When I chased HR again, I was told a start date could not be confirmed until the line manager had given his approval. Later that day the line manager called me and said there were questions outstanding with occupational health and he couldn't proceed until HR had provided him with the Dr's report. I explained that they had already received this (I had personally witnessed the Dr send this over by e-mail to HR) and I also offered to scan my personal copy and forward to HR again. He then requested details of the report and my medical history, but did not wish me to forward a copy, stating managers could not contact occupational health for information. I felt under pressure to answer his questions in order to progress the recruitment process. He expressed concerns over how depression might impact levels of absence and my ability to handle deadlines (neither of which have been an issue in the past). At the end of the phonecall I was told we still had to wait for the report to be sent in order for the Dr to co-oberate what I had said. I'm still waiting for a start date, but am concerned these are delaying tactics and the offer will be withdrawn. My question, at this time, is whether this is standard practice and what my rights are in this situation?