disclosing sickness information at work

[toffee]

I suggest that you check on this in case it is happening and you just are not being told about it.
Managers are also allowed to request this information at any time and will be supplied with it.

So, if I didnt like someone and had heard gossip about them and past sickness reasons, I could ring up and get their career worth of sickness dates and reasons just like that.

 

[Spark123]

I know of a case where a line manager attempted to gain the company medical records from occupational health of an individual. Occupational health turn requested permission from the individual for them to disclose this information to the line manager. The individual refused on the basis the line manager is not of the medical profession and therefore afaik occupational health would not release their records on these grounds. I will ask HR about this next week to clarify and run it past occupational health.

 

[toffee]

Yes, the fact that the information is not just an absence record (just dates) and is a sickness record because it gives actual reasons on it, I think it is very wrong to supply it.
They wont give out any further details that they hold on people at occ health but they will give this, which in my opinion constitutes medical history but occ health say its not.

 

[empip]

I agree with 123 .... I never saw, nor wanted to see a med cert. Straight to med dept.
Furthermore, I believe you, as a patient may ask your doc to respect your privacy and be non-specific when issuing a cert.

Your 'personal file', if it exists, should be available for your viewing ...

Employment Practices Data Protection Code Part 4 - Information About Workers Health
from: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

BTW .. What does the Information Commissioner think of ID cards? :-
http://www.ico.gov.uk/eventual.aspx?id=2655

 

[toffee]

thanks all for these replies.
I didnt know that that the sicknote could be non specific, but it still gives a medical opinion.
There are personal files kept with occ health and you can see your own.

My concern is the print out from a computer that lists dates of sickness/ injury absence with reasons given beside them for self certifed absence and also whatever was written on the sicknote.

I appreciate that this would have been seen by the manager at the time of any particular absence but I believe that should be it over and done with.

Employees should not be haunted with this list being supplied as a routine years and years later, to manager after manager.

Having spoken to others about this, and got your views, it seems that the practice at my employment is indeed excessive and intrusive.
Cheers for the links.

 

[Spark123]

Hi toffee, I checked with our HR dept and their stance is that our management do not have the authority to access my medical records without my authority as it is classed as medical confidential. They are however allowed attendance records and the likes.

 

[toffee]

thankyou spark, I am pursueing this.
It seems my occ health dept. do not distinguish between absence records and sickness records.
Thanks for getting back to me on that.

 

[dg123]

If it's any help; any sickness certificates I supply are sent directly to HR - this is as per company instructions.