LAwyer letter

Buzzard1985

My Solicitor wrote to my work- HR guy.  4 pages and asked whether they consider settlement agreement than litigation bla bla

Said HR guy asked me by email if it's ok to discuss with the Solicitor my work circumstances as naturally he wants to protect my data.   I find this odd very odd given it's. a Solicitor letter and laying out matters.   

However... I have raised a matter of my manager discussing my sick line with staff and was told it not a criminal offence-  ICO were not so keen on this and told me to make an official complaint and if not resolved happily they can step in at that point.  My GP agreed even reckless uttering of data plus it being sensitive might be an offence- not to mention impact on office staff going to the DR in fear it flows from managers mouth.

So is the HR person being VERY cautious or is the HR person just not got a clue regards Solicitors' letters acting on behalf of somebody- Its a solicitor not a random person !

Grumpy_chap

It sounds as though at least part of your grievance is around breach of GDPR 

Most workplace grievances never get as far as a Solicitor's letter.

It is entirely reasonable that HR are following procedure to the letter.

The question seems reasonable and simple, so why not simply respond to confirm your agreement that the employer can communicate with your Solicitor on this matter?

This process also validates the complaint as genuine and not a hoax, which is important for the employer.

Given that you have a Solicitor engaged, they are probably a better source of advice than random strangers on an internet forum.  The Solicitor will have all the facts to hand.

[Deleted User]

Buzzard1985 said:

So is the HR person being VERY cautious or is the HR person just not got a clue regards Solicitors' letters acting on behalf of somebody- 

Neither. The HR guy is doing exactly what is required. Your consent is the only basis he has to share your data.

Give your consent if you want your solicitor to have the data, or continue to withhold it if you don't.

Undervalued

Buzzard1985 said:

My Solicitor wrote to my work- HR guy.  4 pages and asked whether they consider settlement agreement than litigation bla bla

Said HR guy asked me by email if it's ok to discuss with the Solicitor my work circumstances as naturally he wants to protect my data.   I find this odd very odd given it's. a Solicitor letter and laying out matters.   

However... I have raised a matter of my manager discussing my sick line with staff and was told it not a criminal offence-  ICO were not so keen on this and told me to make an official complaint and if not resolved happily they can step in at that point.  My GP agreed even reckless uttering of data plus it being sensitive might be an offence- not to mention impact on office staff going to the DR in fear it flows from managers mouth.

So is the HR person being VERY cautious or is the HR person just not got a clue regards Solicitors' letters acting on behalf of somebody- Its a solicitor not a random person !

Unless the solicitor specifically provided them with evidence of your authorisation to release the data HR are doing the correct thing.

It is also worth noting that your employer doesn't have to engage with your solicitor in any way. In the vast majority of situations there is no right to legal representation at a disciplinary or grievance meeting. Obviously the solicitor can threaten (or indeed commence) legal action on your behalf if their are proper grounds to do so. As part of that they can offer to negotiate a settlement if the employer choose to engage with them.

I don't know how you are funding this but be very careful that the employer doesn't just push the matter around whilst you run up a considerable legal bill. There is no guarantee you will recover your costs in full (or at all) even if you win. If this is "no win no fee" then I hope you fully understand all aspects of the agreement.

It is not really for your GP to offer legal advice.

NCC1701-A

Any one can mock up a letter to look like it comes from a solicitor (look at the parking ticket forum).

however, looking at your other threads that you rarely return to, you have previously refused Occ heath from speaking to your health professionals, and, engaged in misuse of CCTV to spy on strangers having sex - so why you are so concerned about the motivations of a HR person acting on behalf of your employer (former?) to a random solicitors letter as opposed to your rationale for engaging a solicitor is clear as mud to me.

Undervalued

NCC1701-A said:

Any one can mock up a letter to look like it comes from a solicitor (look at the parking ticket forum).

however, looking at your other threads that you rarely return to, you have previously refused Occ heath from speaking to your health professionals, and, engaged in misuse of CCTV to spy on strangers having sex - so why you are so concerned about the motivations of a HR person acting on behalf of your employer (former?) to a random solicitors letter as opposed to your rationale for engaging a solicitor is clear as mud to me.

It is a criminal offence to falsely claim to be a solicitor.

Sandtree

Undervalued said:

NCC1701-A said:

Any one can mock up a letter to look like it comes from a solicitor (look at the parking ticket forum).

however, looking at your other threads that you rarely return to, you have previously refused Occ heath from speaking to your health professionals, and, engaged in misuse of CCTV to spy on strangers having sex - so why you are so concerned about the motivations of a HR person acting on behalf of your employer (former?) to a random solicitors letter as opposed to your rationale for engaging a solicitor is clear as mud to me.

It is a criminal offence to falsely claim to be a solicitor.

Picking up on the pedantry on another thread, and out of curiosity, would it also be illegal to make out the letter came from a law firm if the author doesn't claim to be a solicitor? 

In relation to the main topic, the HR person even if sent a consent letter by the solicitor has no idea if that consent is still valid or if you have potentially withdrawn the consent and therefore its certainly best practice to check directly with the person. Clearly good law firms wouldn't falsely claim to be presenting someone but even good ones can make mistakes and as the Motoring section will point out, not all law firms are good.

Undervalued

Sandtree said:

Undervalued said:

NCC1701-A said:

Any one can mock up a letter to look like it comes from a solicitor (look at the parking ticket forum).

however, looking at your other threads that you rarely return to, you have previously refused Occ heath from speaking to your health professionals, and, engaged in misuse of CCTV to spy on strangers having sex - so why you are so concerned about the motivations of a HR person acting on behalf of your employer (former?) to a random solicitors letter as opposed to your rationale for engaging a solicitor is clear as mud to me.

It is a criminal offence to falsely claim to be a solicitor.

Picking up on the pedantry on another thread, and out of curiosity, would it also be illegal to make out the letter came from a law firm if the author doesn't claim to be a solicitor? 

In relation to the main topic, the HR person even if sent a consent letter by the solicitor has no idea if that consent is still valid or if you have potentially withdrawn the consent and therefore its certainly best practice to check directly with the person. Clearly good law firms wouldn't falsely claim to be presenting someone but even good ones can make mistakes and as the Motoring section will point out, not all law firms are good.

I suppose it depends what you mean by a "law firm". As far as I know anybody can claim to be a legal advisor or similar (which is odd because "legal advice" has a specific meaning). 

Architect is similar in some ways. The title is legally protected but anybody can set up as a "building designer" or some such and as far as I know offer any of the service you would normally associate with an architect.

Sandtree

Undervalued said:

Sandtree said:

Undervalued said:

NCC1701-A said:

Any one can mock up a letter to look like it comes from a solicitor (look at the parking ticket forum).

however, looking at your other threads that you rarely return to, you have previously refused Occ heath from speaking to your health professionals, and, engaged in misuse of CCTV to spy on strangers having sex - so why you are so concerned about the motivations of a HR person acting on behalf of your employer (former?) to a random solicitors letter as opposed to your rationale for engaging a solicitor is clear as mud to me.

It is a criminal offence to falsely claim to be a solicitor.

Picking up on the pedantry on another thread, and out of curiosity, would it also be illegal to make out the letter came from a law firm if the author doesn't claim to be a solicitor? 

In relation to the main topic, the HR person even if sent a consent letter by the solicitor has no idea if that consent is still valid or if you have potentially withdrawn the consent and therefore its certainly best practice to check directly with the person. Clearly good law firms wouldn't falsely claim to be presenting someone but even good ones can make mistakes and as the Motoring section will point out, not all law firms are good.

I suppose it depends what you mean by a "law firm". As far as I know anybody can claim to be a legal advisor or similar (which is odd because "legal advice" has a specific meaning). 

Probably going further down the rabbit hole than necessary as was more questioning if the rule applies to the individual or the organisation.

But as we like rabbit holes... say setting up a website for a random name that copies Shoosmiths meta text, "XXX is a full service UK law firm famous for client service with a network of offices working together as one team. Contact us on 0905....

We can help

Find the right lawyer or other professional to support your specific needs. Whenever you need us, we’ll be there."


Then writing a letter on headed paper of the same and signing off with a non-legal job title, say Head of Employment. 

Marcon

Buzzard1985 said:

My Solicitor wrote to my work- HR guy.  4 pages and asked whether they consider settlement agreement than litigation bla bla

Said HR guy asked me by email if it's ok to discuss with the Solicitor my work circumstances as naturally he wants to protect my data.   I find this odd very odd given it's. a Solicitor letter and laying out matters.   

However... I have raised a matter of my manager discussing my sick line with staff and was told it not a criminal offence-  ICO were not so keen on this and told me to make an official complaint and if not resolved happily they can step in at that point.  My GP agreed even reckless uttering of data plus it being sensitive might be an offence- not to mention impact on office staff going to the DR in fear it flows from managers mouth.

So is the HR person being VERY cautious or is the HR person just not got a clue regards Solicitors' letters acting on behalf of somebody- Its a solicitor not a random person !

So it's a solicitor's letter. They of all people will be able to confirm to you that your consent is needed before a third party can disclose any information about you - surprised you weren't asked by your solicitor to sign a form of authority for them to send your employer.

TBagpuss

Sandtree said:

Undervalued said:

NCC1701-A said:

Any one can mock up a letter to look like it comes from a solicitor (look at the parking ticket forum).

however, looking at your other threads that you rarely return to, you have previously refused Occ heath from speaking to your health professionals, and, engaged in misuse of CCTV to spy on strangers having sex - so why you are so concerned about the motivations of a HR person acting on behalf of your employer (former?) to a random solicitors letter as opposed to your rationale for engaging a solicitor is clear as mud to me.

It is a criminal offence to falsely claim to be a solicitor.

Picking up on the pedantry on another thread, and out of curiosity, would it also be illegal to make out the letter came from a law firm if the author doesn't claim to be a solicitor? 

In relation to the main topic, the HR person even if sent a consent letter by the solicitor has no idea if that consent is still valid or if you have potentially withdrawn the consent and therefore its certainly best practice to check directly with the person. Clearly good law firms wouldn't falsely claim to be presenting someone but even good ones can make mistakes and as the Motoring section will point out, not all law firms are good.

It depends - some types of work are 'reserved legal activities' which can only be carried out by someone who has one of the relevant legal qualifications, and there are offences around falsely holding oneself out to be a solicitor or barrister if you are not one - so depending on exactly how the letter appeared it might be an office, if the effect and apparent intent were to make people think it was sent by a real solicitor. 

On the original question, I agree with others that it is perfectly normal for HR to check, and want to be able to record , that you have authorised them to discuss the matter.