Advice needed

basscadette

Hi all,

I'm after a bit of advice.
OH was given a survey from work, in collaboration with energy saving trust, which asks lots of, we think, quite intrusive questions about ourselves and our property. OH objected to filling it in as thinks our home is nothing to do with work. The data is to be made into a personalised energy report and a consultation on energy saving would be to follow.

The problem is, his manager tried to bully him into filling it in today and he refused. His manager took it to director level and he has been told that he is now in trouble.

My question is, do his company have the right to make him fill this in when it has nothing to do with them or anyone else. What action can they take against him considering that it is not in his contract that he is obliged to give them any personal information asked for on demand? The info bears no relevance to his role, place in the company or anything else for that matter.

We are really annoyed about this as we believe that there should be a personal choice in giving this kind of info over. The threat of getting into trouble with the most senior director, I believe, is disproportionate to the act of refusing to give this information without a good reason being given.

Any help much appreciated. Thanks.

MrC_Beds

Sounds very odd! Is it a small firm? Is there something in it for the company if they complete these surveys?

I would say if it has nothing to do with fulfilling the contract of employment, then your husband was perfectly entitled to decline the survey.

basscadette

Suprisingly it is a large company!! Not sure what is in it for them as it was basically as case of 'fill this in' and refuse if you dare.

cazziebo

It is actually quite usual to ask employees to complete research for their company -especially if it's a large organisation and therefore likely to be more representative of the customer base. It sounds as if this is some kind of market testing eg I was doing some work with an insulation company and the non exec asked individuals in the room what they paid for gas and electricity. The point he was making was that most people don't know (as an MSE-er of course I did :A but I think there was only two of us out of a dozen) and therefore it was hard to target the "able to pay" market because most people just don't pay attention to energy costs. This is very useful information to an insulation company when it comes to how they market their product.

Yes your husband can refuse. If there was any repercussions he could raise a grievance. If this is in the interests of the business, giving them useful information which makes the product better or the service more effective and therefore the company more successful then it could be argued that it does fall into his job description.

It's really for your OH to decide how much of a fuss he wants to make, and whether this is worth making it for. You could always put in false answers if you feel it is intrusive. Some battles just aren't worth it.

ItchieFeet

Mmm if its a large company, with any luck there will be a decent HR department. I recommend that your OH contacts their HR person, stating it is in confidence and asks for some advice.

I think its perfectly reasonable to object on privacy grounds.

Company's can get all gung-ho about a new scheme and it may be that they have promised a consultant 100% take up or something. I cant see how they can possibly force you into it though...

Alternatively - make it up! Can they check back that your answers are a bit fudged?!