"Mark Lenihan" <[log in to unmask]> on
Thursday, November 08, 2001 at 9:43 AM said:-
> 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.
It has been stated directly to me that doctors will sometimes not record the
actual details for illness on a sick note, or they will wrap it up in a
medical term, to try and protect the patient, when the illness is sensitive
in some way.
Putting aside the accurate data and other related issues, that does not say
much for confidence in the handling of this sensitive information by
organisations.
How many places within organisations, really need to know what the illness
is? Do any?
Is it more there is a need to have information that is trusted, indicating
an illness is genuine, and some sort of estimate as to the period of time
the individual is likely to be absent for?
Another member of the group stated:-
> It seems that many current arrangements date from "way back"
> and take no real account of the changes in various legislation over
> the years.
Is the system merely an historical anachronism? Are there any better
processes out there, or is it possible to devise one?
Ian W
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Lenihan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2001 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: medical information recorded by personnel sections
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
> intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
> are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
> the system manager.
>
> This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
> MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses.
>
> www.mimesweeper.com
> **********************************************************************
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> If you wish to leave this list please send the command
> leave data-protection to [log in to unmask]
> All user commands can be found at : -
> www.jiscmail.ac.uk/user-manual/summary-user-commands.htm
> all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please!
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you wish to leave this list please send the command
leave data-protection to [log in to unmask]
All user commands can be found at : -
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/user-manual/summary-user-commands.htm
all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|