The following is a personal view.
I suspect this is one of those areas that has never been properly looked at,
and organisations more or less do as they please. Wherever I have worked I
have been expected to provide some symptomatic reason for being off sick. As
a manager I have expected staff to give reasons for being off sick. This
situation has only applied to short term sickness (under a week), since, for
periods beyond a week medical certificates were expected. As these are from
a doctor and carry some indication of the reason for a person being off
there would then be a record of the actual reason for the sickness absence.
As a manager I would only expect take action over sickness absence if the
number of days off exceeded the standard set by the organisation, or if the
absences exhibited a pattern (e.g. every Monday). Also, the organisation may
expect a 'return to work' interview to be held for any length of absence.
The problem that I can see with the system that I am familiar with is that
the initial sickness reporting (with details) can be collected by anybody in
the organisation. A member of staff may not be able to speak directly to
their manager and may have to leave a message with another member of staff
or on an answer machine. The purposes of this initial data collection is to
determine whether a member of staff is available for work, and it is also
'sensitive data' relating to health. The reason for the absence (other than
'off sick'), is not immediately relevant. It should therefore be covered by
Principles 1 and 3 of the DPA. If further action is required, such as a
sickness interview with a manager or personnel, the reasons for the
absence(s) can be considered in a closed meeting. Doctor's certificates
should only be seen by a relevant manager. This should ensure that personal
details are kept to those who need to know, and that any processing should
be within the interests of the data subject.
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