Alison
You are.
Always get it in writing before taking any action (so that you have a record) and then decide a) whether and b) how far to respond in the context supplied by the requesting agency. It sounds as though in this case the disclosure is justified, but not because a government body wants it. Does the school of thought you mention know just how many goverment bodies there are? A frightening thought if they could all have any information just for the asking!
Leif
>>> "Morton, Alison" <[log in to unmask]> 03/06 1:13 pm >>>
I was presented with the following scenario this morning and would be
grateful for any views:
The Benefits Agency approached the cash office of one of our hospitals to
gain information on a bank employee. It is alleged that the employee is
claiming sickness benefit whilst working on the bank staff. The cash office
asked for a fax confirming the request but did not pass on any information
at this stage. However, they did pass on the Agency's request to our Wages
Department to allow them to process the request. There is a school of
thought that because the Benefits Agency are a Government body that we
should automatically provide them with whatever they ask. I am not of that
opinion and took the views of our Head of Information and Senior Personnel
Officer who agreed that we should have a signed mandate from the employee.
Who's right?
Alison Morton
Data Protection Officer
4 Barns Park
Ayr
Tel: 01292 513722
Fax: 01292 513725
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