GDPR - When I'm off ill...

[TomHD]

Hi All,

 

Not sure if this is the right forum so feel free to move if not.

 

When staff are off ill they are written up on the staffroom board as ill so mine would be "TomHD - ill", when I'm out on training it will say "TomHD - out". If a staff member's child is ill, it will be written up as "Staff X - child ill"!

 

I have always had issue with this as every time I am off ill (I had a long break from work for mental issues a couple of years back) I get lots of staff members messaging me asking if I'm OK, I do not get the same texts when I'm on the board as "out". Now the messages are nice and polite but I seriously don't want to have to explain I'm fine 10+ times when I'm just resting off a cold!

 

So my question is, is my school breaching GDPR by publicly displaying that I'm ill? General staff do not need to know I'm ill, they just need to know I won't be in.

 

Would be interested to hear what other schools do when staff aren't in?

 

Thanks, TomHD

Edited October 2, 2018 by TomHD

[mthomas08]

Sounds like it is quite easy to ID staff from this list?

Do you give consent?

Is there a legit reason for this list?

 

GDPR covers you and staff, not just students and parents. I believe you can ask to have your name removed from that list.

 

We don't have such a list, we have a member of staff dealing with cover/illnesses so only that individual knows about it.

[TomHD]

Sounds like it is quite easy to ID staff from this list?

Do you give consent?

Is there a legit reason for this list?

 

GDPR covers you and staff, not just students and parents. I believe you can ask to have your name removed from that list.

 

We don't have such a list, we have a member of staff dealing with cover/illnesses so only that individual knows about it.

 

Yeah easily identified. I cannot think of a legit reason to say I am ill, I understand communicating that I won't be in but the reasoning is irrelevant. I'm off to speak with management in a moment. Will let you know how it goes.

[hardtailstar]

Our school used to send out an email who was offsite but didn't give reasons. But that has stopped now since the member of staff left who did it.

[GrumbleDook]

No, they do not need to give out medical information in this way.

[admars]

i suppose it would be helpful to have 3 choices

 

onsite

offsite

absent

 

that way absent would cover leave or sick, and staff woudl know not to try and contact you on mobile etc.

 

offsite they'd know you're working but could be on another site, in training etc?

[Achandler]

I don't understand why you are trying to make it a GDPR issue, just ask for it not to say that are off ill. They call it conversation and being reasonable, this is something that the vast majority of society are perfectly capable of, instead of making it into something else.

 

If people were more capable of talking about something and not trying to make sure they will get their own way before they even think about talking about something the world would work much better, so ask whoever produces the list if it can be changed to say absent or even have your name removed if that's what you so desire. If they don't think they should or won't change it (for whatever reason, they might have a legitimate one that you don't know about), then you can deal with that then.

[TomHD]

I don't understand why you are trying to make it a GDPR issue...

If people were more capable of talking about something

 

1. I am not trying to make any issue.

2. We are talking about it here and now.

 

3. I don't need to be told how to behave by you or anyone! I know how to have a conversation and act like a decent member of society. Be careful getting off your horse, its a long way down.

 

Just an update, I took the advice about the onsite/offsite/absent idea and management love it so thanks to those who gave that and to the others who added some value to this thread

 

Have a great day, TomHD

Edited October 3, 2018 by TomHD

[enjay]

Yeah easily identified. I cannot think of a legit reason to say I am ill, I understand communicating that I won't be in but the reasoning is irrelevant. I'm off to speak with management in a moment. Will let you know how it goes.

 

We changed our notice in the staff room for this exact reason. I don't know if this is specifically a GDPR breach or not, but it seemed sensible. Some staff such as the HT and HR Manager need to know the reason, but general staff (salute!) just need to know you're not in.

[Achandler]

Your title of the thread is GDPR - When I'm off ill..., I think that was pretty explicit in that you thought it was a GDPR issue. You were asking a question on a forum within a data protection area.

 

Whether a post on a forum is talking about an issue or not is personal opinion, as sometimes I believe it is and others it isn't. Either way it's about talking to the correct people (e.g work colleagues and management) which is what I was clearly implying.

 

Once you have gotten over being offended and trying to insult me, just think about it, everyday you are told how to behave I'm afraid by people whether you like it or not, from extremes (e.g. don't go around killing people) to smaller things (e.g. what time you have to be at work).

 

 

Anyway the result of talking to the correct people, those at your place of work, this problem was solved and everyone was satisfied. So it seems that I was in fact correct after all, conversation solved the problem without any need to mention GDPR issues.

[witch]

Which draws a line under that, please

[TomHD]

I did mention GDPR and as a school that takes it seriously, my management team were very happy that I'd identified a potential breach.

 

I don't get offended, certainly not by some nobody online

Edited October 3, 2018 by elsiegee40
Language

[enjay]

@TomHD I think you're right, it is a GDPR question - protection of personal information relating to my medical health. Repeated absences would suggest some health condition, and my colleagues (especially those I don't directly work with) have no right or reason to know that about my - or my children's - medical history.

[TomHD]

@TomHD I think you're right, it is a GDPR question - protection of personal information relating to my medical health. Repeated absences would suggest some health condition, and my colleagues (especially those I don't directly work with) have no right or reason to know that about my - or my children's - medical history.

 

Exactly this. How does your school manages communicating of staff absence @enjay ?

[enjay]

We print a report from SIMS Cover Manager, notice board summary I think it is called. That shows who is absent, which periods and who is covering their lessons. There is a tick-box on that to show the reason, so we print it once with the reason code (given hard copy to the HT and HR Manager) and once without which is emailed to cover supervisors, Reception and pinned on the notice board.

[TomHD]

That sounds like a great way to do it, we don't have SIMS CM but good to know for future

[PotNoodleTech]

Out of interest, when you say staff kept messaging you - via school email system(s), school phone or personal phone?

 

Only reason I ask is, if you are ill, then you should not be checking school emails, your school phone should be switched off, and if staff all have your personal mobile phone number then I would be considering that a much more unacceptable situation than what is written on a board in the staff room!

 

As an aside, it's quite nice that staff are checking if you are ok - no one messages me when I am off to ask how I am!!

[TomHD]

Out of interest, when you say staff kept messaging you - via school email system(s), school phone or personal phone?

 

Only reason I ask is, if you are ill, then you should not be checking school emails, your school phone should be switched off, and if staff all have your personal mobile phone number then I would be considering that a much more unacceptable situation than what is written on a board in the staff room!

 

As an aside, it's quite nice that staff are checking if you are ok - no one messages me when I am off to ask how I am!!

 

My personal mobile so only people who I have given it to previously. The messages are benign in themselves its just when I have time off people think I've gone nuts again. If I'm off with a cold/flu/etc I'm typically off to reduce the spread of the illness rather than my inability to do work. I will check my emails and if I feel up to it I will fix small issues remotely.

[enjay]

My personal mobile so only people who I have given it to previously. The messages are benign in themselves its just when I have time off people think I've gone nuts again.

 

They might think that anyway, if they happen to notice you're not in.

 

I do know what you mean though, Mrs Enjay had repeated time off for something, then any time she was off with a cold, people asked her about the other thing. As with you, it usually came from a place of genuine concern, but it might not be something you want to talk about or worse still, it might be triggering.

 

I had something similar too. One time I was taking Mrs Enjay to a minor hospital procedure because she couldn't drive home afterwards., so I had taken holiday to go with her rather than pay for a taxis. One of my colleagues said "he's not here because he's had to take his wife to hospital". Next day, cue concerned messages from people who thought Mrs Enjay had been rushed in under blue lights. I didn't particularly want to go into details with colleagues about my wife's health and why she was having a procedure in the hospital, and I'm sure Mrs Enjay wouldn't want me discussing her like that either.

Edited October 3, 2018 by enjay

[TomHD]

Yeah this was never about causing an issue or creating a law suit. Its 2018 and rightfully so, people have a right to a certain level of privacy. The thread's title was purely just to start the conversation. All sorted now and hopefully this thread will remain useful for others who find themselves working under a similarly broken policy