What employees actually receive from a workplace health screen

The email from HR says you're booked in for a health screen. It might call it a staff MOT or an annual medical, and it probably doesn't say much more than that. Two questions usually follow: what actually happens on the day, and who gets to read the results?

The second one has a short answer: you do. At The Health Screening Clinic, your individual clinical report comes to you. Your employer receives only a summary you've consented to, such as a fit-to-work letter, confirmation that you attended, or a structured corporate report agreed before you arrived.

Want to check which package your employer has booked, or arrange your own appointment within their programme? Call the clinic on 020 7183 7056 or see the occupational health page. The team can match you to the package your employer bought.

Who sees my results?

Your report is your medical record, and it stays yours even when your employer is paying. What travels back to work is a short, agreed document: a fit-to-work letter, an attendance confirmation, or a structured corporate report of the kind scoped when the programme was set up.

This is how medical confidentiality works, rather than a clinic courtesy. GMC confidentiality guidance on disclosing information for employment, insurance and similar purposes is built around consent and relevance, and around sending a limited opinion instead of a whole record. The Information Commissioner's Office treats workers' health information as special category data under UK GDPR. So if a manager asks you to "just forward the PDF", that decision is yours. The clinic sends work only the agreed summary.

It's worth asking, before anyone takes blood or puts a cuff on your arm, exactly which summary your employer will receive and whether you'll see it first. GMC guidance expects doctors to offer to show you a report written about you for employment purposes, or give you a copy, before it's sent, unless a narrow exception applies. If the answer is vague, wait until it's clear.

That's also why you can be open in the room. The doctor is your doctor for that appointment, so your medicines, alcohol, family history and whatever you're quietly worried about all belong in the conversation. The examination is only as useful as what you tell them.

What happens on the day?

You'll be seen in one of two places, and both are led by a doctor. Most people come to 117a Harley Street. If your employer has booked an office day, the team comes to you. Office days are for groups of five staff or more, subject to space, equipment and clinical scope, so smaller teams usually attend the clinic.

Harley Street is the quieter of the two: private consulting rooms, a separate executive lounge for some visits, and pathology on site. Same-day clinic appointments are available when capacity allows, which is separate from any office screening day. Expect your time to be spent in a consulting room with a doctor.

An office day is a workforce visit. The team brings portable equipment for the tests that can travel: blood pressure and urinalysis, plus anything your employer added, such as an ECG, spirometry, hearing, vision, or a drug and alcohol panel. If blood tests are part of your package, samples are couriered to laboratory partners the same day. No manager sits in, and your results come to you rather than to a shared inbox, unless you've agreed otherwise.

Scans are the one thing that stays put. Chest X-ray, MRI and ultrasound, when they're in your package, are done at partner centres a few minutes' walk from Harley Street. So if your email mentions both an office screening and a scan, plan for two locations.

Embassy, leadership and high-profile groups can have a named doctor as liaison, with encrypted report delivery to a single nominated contact. That's an arrangement for discretion, and you still receive your own individual report.

What's included in the appointment?

That depends on what your employer bought, and the words "health MOT" on an email can mean two different things. A corporate workforce screen and a personal Health MOT are separate packages, even when they happen in the same building.

The corporate Essential workforce screen, currently from £210 per employee, includes a doctor's physical examination, blood pressure and pulse, urinalysis, a conversation about lifestyle and cardiovascular risk, and an express written report. Every corporate tier is built on that core. Higher tiers add the investigations the company asked for, so HR can tell you exactly what's in yours.

Some employers book a personal Health MOT for staff instead. These are preventative assessments with a results review, and the entry-level Essential Health MOT is a different product from the workforce Essential, despite the shared name. Ask HR, in writing, for the package name. If they can't tell you, ask the clinic on the day before anything starts, because you're consenting to a defined piece of work.

How should I prepare?

Bring your glasses, any inhalers, a list of your medicines, and recent letters from your GP or another clinic. Fast only if you were told to for the tests in your package, and keep taking your regular medicines unless you were told otherwise. You don't need a GP referral for a screen your employer has already booked.

The clinic FAQ covers fasting, how long the visit takes and what happens if something is found. For which package you're on, HR or the confirmation the clinic sent you will have the answer.

What if something comes back out of range?

Results are marked against a reference range, and the doctor may note a finding worth talking through. The UK National Screening Committee puts it well, even though a workplace screen sits outside the national programmes. Screening picks out apparently healthy people who may have a higher chance of a condition, and a positive result usually leads to further tests rather than a diagnosis.

So a raised blood pressure on the day, blood or protein in your urine, or a flag on a later blood test is information to act on calmly. It might mean a repeat test, a letter to take to your NHS GP, or a referral. Keep it between you and the doctor until you know what it means.

A preventative screen also has no pass or fail. The one exception is when a fitness-to-work opinion was requested in advance and you agreed that this was the purpose of the visit.

If you notice a breast lump or blood in your urine, see your GP about it now. For chest pain, sudden breathlessness, collapse or a mental health crisis, call 999 or go to A&E.

Questions worth asking HR before the day

• Which package did you book, by name?
• Am I going to Harley Street, an office day, or both, because a scan is part of it?
• What will the company receive: attendance, a fit-to-work line, a structured summary, or nothing further without my consent?
• Will I see that summary before it's sent?

Keep your own copy of the clinical report. If a finding needs repeating or a specialist opinion, take it to your GP or ask the clinic's doctors to go through it with you. If you've been given a named doctor as part of an embassy or high-profile group, use that contact for anything clinical, and keep clinical letters off wider office lists. Anything you share with HR beyond the agreed summary is your decision.

To book your place in your employer's programme, or check what they've commissioned, see occupational health or call 020 7183 7056. If you're the person choosing a programme, read what a UK employer should buy as corporate health screening. If you might need a visa or pre-employment medical instead, see visa medical versus occupational medical versus Health MOT.

Frequently asked questions

Who sees my results?

You do. Your individual clinical report comes to you. Your employer receives only a summary you've consented to, such as a fit-to-work letter, attendance confirmation or a structured corporate report agreed in advance.

Will HR get my blood pressure, urine result or blood tests?

Those details sit in your clinical report, which is yours. What goes back to work is the limited summary you were told about, and agreed to, before the appointment.

What should I expect on the day?

A doctor-led examination at 117a Harley Street or, for groups of five or more staff, an office screening day. Any scans are done at partner centres a few minutes' walk from Harley Street.

Is this a medical I can fail?

A preventative screen has no pass or fail. The exception is when a fitness-to-work opinion was requested in advance and you agreed to that being the purpose. An out-of-range result is a reason for a conversation, a repeat test or a referral.

What if my employer booked a personal Health MOT rather than a workforce screen?

Ask HR for the package name. A personal Health MOT, including the Essential Health MOT, is a separate appointment from the corporate Essential workforce screen, with its own contents.

What if I feel unwell before or on the day?

Screening works best when you feel well. For new, severe or worsening symptoms, see your GP or urgent care first, and call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency.

Sources

• General Medical Council. Penelope Jane Sheehan, 6056535
• General Medical Council. Confidentiality: good practice in handling patient information
• General Medical Council. Confidentiality: disclosing information for employment, insurance and similar purposes
• Information Commissioner's Office. Data protection and workers' health information
• UK National Screening Committee. Principles of screening
• NHS. When to call 999

Written By

Stephen Lingam

Managing Director

Managing Director of Medical Express Clinic and the Health Screening Clinic since 1984. Over 40 years of operational experience in private healthcare on Harley Street, overseeing patient care, clinical standards, and service delivery.

Medically Reviewed

Dr Penny Sheehan

MBBS, MRCGP

General Practitioner

GMC: 6056535

Specialising in women's health, hormonal balance, and menopause management within screening contexts.

Last reviewed: 25/09/2026