Current employer sharing personal data with prospective employer - what to do?

MrsManda

Under the ICO's Employment Practices Code, health data is considered to be sensitive information and must only be given out if the employer is certain that it is the employee's wish with a 'if in doubt ask' clause.

This applies not only to references but also to employers themselves - sensitive information should only be accessed by people who explicitly require it for their job and should be limited to 2-3 people.

Information on this can be found on the ICO website HERE and on the ACAS website HERE
As to what you can do about it you can contact ACAS or the ICO for advice. But first point of call should be internal policies on disclosure and the DPA and DDA.

lucylucky

dmg24 wrote: »

The document outlines how medical information should be treated by data controllers - that is very relevant!

OP, I am still not sure what your partner would like the outcome of the situation to be?

As has already been established the employer disclosed personal information that was not relevant to the question asked so the document linked to by WTM was no more than a smokescreen to justify his posts in some way. So not an interesting document in the light of that.

To go back to the question - if I was her I would raise a grievance through the company procedures and see what happens from there.

moromir

Deleted_User wrote: »

Moromir, I know you have good intentions but if only I could make it clear what the risks were to you, you would understand. The risk really is so negligible. And - most importantly - the risk isn't specifically at work. Should she notify the bus driver when she goes to work, in case she's injured in an accident? Or the waiter at the restaurant, in case she cuts herself on a knife?

The risk is tiny - and what measures would they change to accommodate? Tell everyone that they should wear gloves to deal with her? This is, of course, assuming that this condition has rendered her incapable of putting a plaster on herself if she cuts herself.

I'm sorry but to be clear, I am fully aware of how cross contamination occurs and the likelyhood of this occuring as I used to work with biological samples for a research laboratory while I was at university. To fufill their requirements to work there I had to undertake thorough first aid and risk management training.

The latter part of your post shows just how personally you are taking this - you don't seem to be seeing the wider picture.

Noone said "everyone ... should wear gloves to deal with her".
What was actually suggested was that the whole department/office takes basic first aid training and wears gloves or appropriate protective clothing to deal with any member of staff who requires first aid.

Regarding your comments about the risk not being specific to work - I don't see how this is relevent. Especially your comment about the waiter since if he had a wound, his employer is already bound by health and safety legislation to ensure that he puts effective counter infection measures in place ie a plaster. If his boss hasn't and the waiter clearly has an open wound then in my opinion, yes your partner should make him aware (if she is able to) that he needs to protect himself before assisting her.

"what measures would they change to accommodate?"
I suggested some above already, department wide first aid training stressing personal safety before assisting others and the mandantory availability of appropriate protective clothing such as gloves for staff to use if they so wish.

I think we need to move away from "well she can just put a plaster on it" type scenarios to considering serious injuries where she may not be able to tell someone who has come to her assistance of the risk they may potentially putting themselves in.

I don't know the nature of the job but in an office environment I appreciate those scenarios are improbable but they arn't impossible. A couple of years ago my office manager came into work one morning to find the managing director unconscious on the floor with a bleeding head wound. He didn't come round until a couple of minutes after she'd put a dressing on his head. It didn't even occur to her to put gloves on. (if you're wondering he fell off the stepladder trying to change the fluroscent light tube, she did call him an ambulance too don't worry!).

My point here is that my boss at that specific time, was incapable of telling my manager she needed to protect herself from risk a, b or c and she didn't have the training at the time to know to protect herself from a, b or c whether they were present or not.

A week later we all got mandantory first aid training. There was nothing wrong with my MD but apparently the paramedic gave him a talking to about the potential risks he had exposed my manager to and he was really horrified - it just simply hadn't occured to him to protect himself from the risk, let alone the staff.

Apologies for derailing the thread - I'll let this get back to the legalities.

moromir

Person_one wrote: »

If she suffered a cut at work she should only be treated by a trained first aider who should know the precautions to take when dealing with potential biohazard, which everyone's blood is classed as.

Sorry but this statement is far too "general" and potentially entirely incorrect. There are different levels of first aid training (defined by ACOP last year) and the requirements for the workplace depend on the number of staff vs the hazard level of the work place (see ACOP for definitions).

It is my understanding that in a low risk environment such as an office or shop with less than 25 employees, it is only necessary to have an Appointed Person. It is my understanding that this person is not legally required (although strongly advised) to have any first aid training what so ever.

SueC_2

Clearly a very emotive subject! For what it's worth, my two-pennarth worth (concentrating on where you are now as opposed to the rights and wrongs of how you got there):

• The reference purely referred to a 'blood disorder' - this is a fairly broad term which could include anything from common or garden anaemia all the way through to HIV, hepatitis and the like. It is only because your other half knows the severity of her condition, and how it has affected her life, that she feels so devastated to have had this information revealed. It is highly likely that the recipient of the reference won't read half as much into this as you are imagining.

• As already said, the risk of cross infection is very very minimal. Couple that with the fact that anyone who has been trained in first aid in any way will have been taught about 'Universal Precautions'. Basically put, that means that just because you know one person is 'infected' doesn't mean you know that the next person isn't. It is entirely possible that the person themselves doesn't know they are 'infected'. Therefore, from a medical aid point of view, you treat EVERYONE as infected, to minimise risk to yourself.

• Granted, people who aren't medically trained probably don't know this, and any well-wishing bystander could jump in to give open-heart massage without first donning gloves. But as has already been pointed out - this could happen in the street, in a restaurant, at the leisure centre, anywhere. What is this poor lady to do - walk around ringing a bell?

OP - in answer to your question of what you can/should do, I can't give any 'by the law' advice, but I think if it was me I would:

• Have a quiet word with my manager/HR department and say I'd appreciate it if they could word any future references slightly differently as their existing comments could give cause for concern where actually there shouldn't be a need for concern.

• Have a quiet word with my new employer, and say I was concerned to read the comments, predominantly because they alluded to something unnecessarily. I'd explain that, yes, I do have a blood condition (no need to go into details though), but that it doesn't affect my work performance or my reliability in any way. I'd make sure to mention that I'd only had 4 days off in the past year and that these weren't in any way related to the condition. The employer may well ask if there is anything else they need to know(for example, is she likely to be taken ill at work and if so does the employer need to be briefed on what to do), but so long as your OH reassures them that the condition isn't one that would suddenly make her collapse etc (presuming it isn't?), then really that's all they need concern themselves with.

This is obviously, and understandably, a situation that you are very sensitive about. But to be honest, I think attempting to take formal action of any kind will only prolong it, and probably make it a lot more painful to deal with. I think damage limitation is the best you can go for.

And don't forget, there are lots of people who have very horrible illnesses and diseases and are able to function perfectly well in their jobs, this needs only be an issue to your OH if she lets it be.

All the best to both of you.

[Deleted User]

moromir wrote: »

I think we need to move away from "well she can just put a plaster on it" type scenarios to considering serious injuries where she may not be able to tell someone who has come to her assistance of the risk they may potentially putting themselves in.

I appreciate your comments, but this is my argument entirely. Surely - logically - there's no greater risk being at work than in any other daily activity (taking the bus, riding a bike etc), but there's no requirement for her to wear a badge advertising the risk outside of the office.

I just don't see how people would behave differently. If she was out with her work colleagues and they didn't have rubber gloves to hand, should they stand back and refuse to assist if she has an accident?

moromir

Deleted_User wrote: »

I appreciate your comments, but this is my argument entirely. Surely - logically - there's no greater risk being at work than in any other daily activity (taking the bus, riding a bike etc), but there's no requirement for her to wear a badge advertising the risk outside of the office.

Legally, who knows.

Personally, if it were me, everyone I come into regular contact with (family, colleagues, boyfriend, gym manager) would be aware of my condition and would be made aware of the precautions they need to take. I would strongly consider wearing a medical bracelet to assist those who have come into contact with me by chance (ie bus driver, waiter).

However I fully appreciate the stigma and why she wouldn't want to do that. However I feel she has a moral responsibility to make her employer aware that he/she needs to give the staff the training and access to safety measures (gloves, aprons etc) so that they can adequately protect themselves in all first aid situations, whether they involve your OH or not. It is of course entirely possible that the whole workforce is already given this training as a matter of course - in which case my point is moot, but it is unusual in workplace for this to be the case.

Deleted_User wrote: »

If she was out with her work colleagues and they didn't have rubber gloves to hand, should they stand back and refuse to assist if she has an accident?

That is entirely the perogative of the individual staff member.They have every right to refuse to administer first aid no matter who is involved or what the situation is. They should have the knowledge and training to make an informed choice before they put themselves in a situation which could endanger their health or potentially their lives.

Personally, I would be extremely unlilkely to adminster first aid of any kind without gloves. The first thing I was told on my first first aid course was that you are not a healthcare professional, do not endanger yourself and never feel guilty for ensuring your personal safety before assisting others.

Savvy_Sue

Has the OP contacted ACAS yet, because frankly, I'd have thought they were likely to be the most reliable and easily contacted source of information on whether it was OK to do it or not, and what this lady can do about it.

As for the risks:

moromir wrote: »

(ie beef up the first aid kits, make sure everyone had sufficient first aid awareness)

That would be good practice anyway.

Person_one wrote: »

If she suffered a cut at work she should only be treated by a trained first aider who should know the precautions to take when dealing with potential biohazard, which everyone's blood is classed as.

Actually I'd say everyone should know the precautions to take when someone's bleeding, if at all possible.

I was absolutely horrified one day when I collected my son from an afterschool club I'd just set up to find that he was having a serious nosebleed, and one of the staff was holding his nose, ungloved. As in moromir's example, it was an instinctive reaction, and AFAIK neither my son nor the staff member have any blood 'issues', but it's just not done!

What we usually do at work is get the person to sort themselves out, if at all possible. It saves anyone having to glove up ...

pelirocco

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Has the OP contacted ACAS yet, because frankly, I'd have thought they were likely to be the most reliable and easily contacted source of information on whether it was OK to do it or not, and what this lady can do about it.

As for the risks:That would be good practice anyway.

Actually I'd say everyone should know the precautions to take when someone's bleeding, if at all possible.

I was absolutely horrified one day when I collected my son from an afterschool club I'd just set up to find that he was having a serious nosebleed, and one of the staff was holding his nose, ungloved. As in moromir's example, it was an instinctive reaction, and AFAIK neither my son nor the staff member have any blood 'issues', but it's just not done!

What we usually do at work is get the person to sort themselves out, if at all possible. It saves anyone having to glove up ...

Just what is the risk of catching anything from helping someone with a nosebleed ?

custardy

If im honest,it sounds like the person giving the reference has some issues with the OP's partner
there was no reason to state any details about the condition she has
they could have mentioned time off sick or whatever
then it would have been up to the OP's partner to explain these to their new employer