There are issues about what information is collected at each stage of the
sickness absence process, and who needs to know at each stage. Also the
formal process for handling staff sickness absence should clearly state what
will happen to sensitive data at each stage of the process, and who is
involved.
In my view the initial data collection, when a member of staff indicates
that they are unavailable to work due to sickness, should be just a record
of the absence - no further information should be sought or given. If the
person returns in under a week they may have to fill out a
self-certification form and have a return-to-work interview, but this would
be confidential. At this stage it is sensible for a manager to have some
indication of (at least) the symptoms in case there is a work-related
problem. For absences of more than a week a medical certificate is a
confirmation that the person has been ill, although it may not be fully
informative (as has been pointed out). It is likely that an absence of more
than a week would trigger more formal proceedings, which could lead to
meetings with Occupational Health etc. The number of people involved at each
stage depends upon the hierarchy of the organisation and when personnel
staff are involved. Since these people should have a duty of confidentiality
the DPA requirements are likely to be satisfied.
The culture of most organisations is to expect a reason for a sickness
absence from the first day of absence. Because of this few members of staff
would challenge this procedure, thus leading to them not being given the
opportunity to refuse to give the information. I believe that the DPA
regulations should apply to short term (under a week) absences and that
organisations should only expect details of sickness where confidentiality
can be guaranteed.
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