Medical condition - my rights.

jobbingmusician

I do wonder if the OP is having some sort of elective plastic surgery and is expecting his or her employer to fund extended sick leave to recover - OP, perhaps you can reassure us that this is not the case?

Many employers restrict sick leave in just this sort of scenario, which is why they want to know some details of a medical condition. Would you want to fund someone's recovery from a vanity breast enhancement, for example? (Whereas an employer should, of course, fund recovery time for a breast reconstruction following a mastectomy. Just one example of where medical details make a lot of difference...)

anamenottaken

Sick_Boy - Does your company have a discretionary sick pay scheme or does it pay statutory sick pay only?

Miss_Havisham

What does it say in your contract and staff handbook about your responsibilties to your employer re sickness absence ?

Sick_Boy

Thank you very much for all constructive answers.
You are great!

poet123 wrote: »

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I am not sure why you would want to keep the detail from the authorised HR dept, who have a duty of care with any info you give. Is the condition something that is embarrassing or that has a negative connotation?

pickpocketlocket wrote: »

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Why do you not wish to give the information?

I would like to keep my medical condition history to myself as I think this is my personal thing.
By knowing my managers I am afraid of leaking the information and making inappropriate comments under my address.
But after reading your posts I think is worth to consider to give the information to HR.

ILW wrote: »

If you do not tell them, they will come to their own conclusions which will more than likely be even more exotic than the truth.

I agree.

jobbingmusician wrote: »

I do wonder if the OP is having some sort of elective plastic surgery and is expecting his or her employer to fund extended sick leave to recover - OP, perhaps you can reassure us that this is not the case?

No,this is not a plastic surgery.

anamenottaken wrote: »

Sick_Boy - Does your company have a discretionary sick pay scheme or does it pay statutory sick pay only?

Sick pay scheme.

Miss_Havisham wrote: »

What does it say in your contract and staff handbook about your responsibilties to your employer re sickness absence ?

I must provide a medical certificate covering my absence.
They can request to attend a medical examination and contact me at my home during absence.

poet123

If you give the info to HR you can tell them directly that you have told no one else and that you are relying on their discretion and their adherence to the DPA.

anamenottaken

Sick_Boy wrote: »

Sick pay scheme.


I must provide a medical certificate covering my absence.
They can request to attend a medical examination and contact me at my home during absence.

As the employer operates an occupational sick pay scheme which could pay more than SSP, you are likely to find this is discretionary. If you did not provide what they considered to be satisfactory information about the reason for your absence, they could exercise their discretion and not pay you more than SSP. Telling only HR may well be enough for them to be able to decide whether to pay under the occupational scheme.

ktothema

OP - if it makes you feel better I was required to do this by my company a few years back. I was worried about my immediate boss finding out and using any information against me, though I had declared everything anyway (was probably being paranoid, but whilst I'd declared it to HR I didn't want the world to know). In fairness to my company, the only people who saw the details were HR and Occ Health. HR refused my department director the info only giving her a statement of what she was required to do. But as poet123 says, you could also state that you wish the information to go no further than HR without your express permission.

DVardysShadow

The best way of dealing with this is to agree an appointment with the company Doctor - and make sure it is a Doctor and not some other health professional. You should be able to discuss with this doctor in confidence and agree what the company is told - but make your intention as to the process clear with the doctor at the outset.

The reason that I lay stress on seeing the company doctor is that doctors are bound by their professional ethics not to divulge anything they are told in confidence.

Uncertain

DVardysShadow wrote: »

The best way of dealing with this is to agree an appointment with the company Doctor - and make sure it is a Doctor and not some other health professional. You should be able to discuss with this doctor in confidence and agree what the company is told - but make your intention as to the process clear with the doctor at the outset.

The reason that I lay stress on seeing the company doctor is that doctors are bound by their professional ethics not to divulge anything they are told in confidence.

I agree.

The doctor's overriding duty is to the patient. There are strict rules for occupational health matters. The doctor's function is to assess your condition (including if necessary contacting your GP etc) then to advise the firm how your condition may affect your work and any special steps the firm need to take. The doctor is required to give the firm the minimum necessary medical information to achieve this.

You can read the rules on the GMC website.