During my initial screening telephone call with the lead recruiter I was asked detailed questions about the ill health that had led to my employment gap.I have worked very hard on myself to get to the stage where I can restart my career and I was made to feel very uncomfortable discussing personal medical information with a stranger at this stage of the recruitment process.I was surprised by the inappropriate nature of the questions she asked me , given the equality act, and feel this person demonstrated a lack of knowledge and empathy. Overall, I found the candidate experience very disappointing and this experience has affected my confidence going forward.