Work wanting access to medical records, can't sleep...

[SociableAutist]

I'm currently signed off work due to autistic burnout. I'm trying my best to recover and get back to normal but am so stressed and worried by work that it's impeding my recovery.

Work now want access to my medical records. Thing is, this will be no use to them whatsoever. I was diagnosed with autism as an adult a few years ago, and there's nothing on my notes about it apart from the referral and diagnosis. There are, however, some deeply personal and private things in my record that I don't want my employer having access to.
What makes this worse is that I work for an individual, so it's not a separate HR department or anything.

My usual GP is on maternity leave. The others at the surgery don't know me, and there are no services or support for adult autism. There's no useful evidence or information in my medical records about this.

Things are so difficult and stressful in my life atm. I'm struggling to go on at all, and this is making it worse. I'm so upset that they won't let me recover and are just making things worse.

Can I refuse permission to access my records? Is this too much for them to ask?

They won’t be asking for full records. They should have sent your GP a letter with a list of questions, which your GP will answer, and you will see the report and give permission before it’s sent.

They will be doing this as part of normal absence procedures if they think they aren’t getting the full picture from you about treatment and recovery. So they can make informed decisions including how best to support you (eg phased return, adjustments). You are also obligated to be doing everything you can to get your health back on track and back to work so they will want reassurance this is happening.

Given you only work for one person, to ease the pressure and preserve the relationship, could you talk to them first and ask what it is they need to know. You should also be conscious that if this is a small business, lengthy absence could be very disruptive to them so their tolerance may be lower (ie if difficult to cover the role with no indication of when you’ll be back).

This! Do not give access to your medical records. It is full access to all records. As suggested, talk to ACAS. There are some very naive comments on this thread.

It's normal (good) practice for an employer to request a medical report to assist with managing long term absence and making reasonable adjustments in the workplace. You don't need to disclose your full medical history to your boss. It sounds like, in the first instance, you need to clarify with your boss who will be receiving the report and what will be done with it e.g. are they using an occupational health service and therefore the boss will only receive a broad overview along with recommendations. Once you have this clarification you could request a GP appointment and go through what will go in your report with your GP. They will be used to writing these reports. Refusing to allow access to anything that will inform your employer about adjustments that need to be made would count against you if you decided to take them to court for unfair dismissal etc in the future. You need to help them to help you. 6 weeks is a long time to be off, particularly when it sounds like you're not close to returning any time soon, so this is normal practice.

What does your current sick note state as the reason for absence? Is it related to autism?

That seems very invasive after only 6 weeks of sick. They will only be given the info on your current sickness so they will write to the GP and be only given specific info NOT your notes.

Agree that they can ask specific questions, agreed in advance with you, but that you do not wish them to have full access to your medical records.

Did you sick note say how long you may need?

Please try not to worry . Your employer will not get access to your medical records . They will ( with your permission) ask your GP for a report on the condition that is causing your absence . An employer usually does this to find out how long the current period of absence will last and what adjustments they need to make to support you to return to work
You can refuse but then your employer will make any decisions based on what they know/assume
I would advise you to allow consent as your GP will confirm your autism which is considered a disability under the Equalities Act 2010 and will afford you better protection in law.

I've had autism burnout and it's horrendous. Once you get it once, you're more susceptible to burning out again and again. Your threshold gets lower and lower.

Is there any possibility you can get a new job OP?

If a random nurse can't access your medical records then neither can your boss. They're an absolute idiot assuming they can 😁 and I would be sceptical having a boss with such low level critical thinking skills.

Get well soon x

They can't have your medical records. They can request a medical report which usually indicates the expected recovery time, whether you will be able to fulfil all of your duties, and if you need a phased return and any reasonable adjustments.

Your employer writes to ask the GP to provide the information, but first the employer has to write formally to you, requesting your permission and you need to countersign that letter. Unless you explicitly give your permission to your GP to release the letter directly to the employer you are allowed to see it first and you can make changes.

It may be helpful for you to see your GP in advance of all this and talk through the process and be reassures that the depths of your medical history will absolutely not be released.

On a separate note, I'm wondering if this is the right job for you and whether this may be a time of reflection and reassessment of what might be a better fit.

I hope you feel better soon.

What is the absence reason listed on your sick notes? If stress/burnout then that is the evidence for your employer and you should also provide them with a copy of your autism diagnosis.

I work in HR and we have never asked for, or been given full access to an employee's medical history....it would be totally inappropriate but we do need to see evidence of what the matter is and know how we can best support an employee in returning to work.

As well as providing them with your sick notes and autism diagnosis information, you could suggest that an Occupational Health referral would be helpful. This is usually done by a third party professional (ours costs the company £300 for each report.) They will then speak with you and provide your employer with a general report that suggests any reasonable adjustments they could make to help you. It's high level and you usually have sight of the report before it is sent to your work so you know what they've said. It really is designed to help you and would definitely be worth your while.

Point blank refusal to engage with your employer won't help and I'm hoping they've worded it badly. I'd reply via email so it's in writing and re-send copies of your sick notes, your diagnosis information and say that you are happy to discuss further with an Occupational Health consultant. That is reasonable and shows engagement from your side and will hopefully be of help to both you and your employer.

How long have you been employed there? If it's more than two years your position is stronger.

They will not get access to your records they get permission to ask questions a report will be written which you can see first. You can make sure with your dr the process if you'd like im sure.

I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve here its a short absence verified by your dr with your fit note so they know you have a diagnosis. Why do they want to approach dr have they said? Are they interested in likely length of absence a return to work plan or any ongoing reasonable adjustments? If its those things its not unusual but equally I'm sure you could just tell them those things after you consult with your dr

What's the outcome if you say no? Have they said?

Is there anyone who can advocate for you in this situation? With autism burnout what you need is space and time. Every call from work pushes back your recovery.

You do not need to provide any medical records and you definitely do not need to provide a summary record of anything. What he is asking for is not allowed, do not provide anything other than the doctors sign off note.

id be asking why.
presumably they have a Drs note to confirm your reason for sick leave?
If they wanted to know how to support you in the work place they could simply ask you. what it is they want?

mid be tempted to go back and ask specifically what information they want and why. Then state you will not be giving permission to view all medical history because it is not relevant.

like others have suggested though I’d call ACAS for some proper employment rights advice.

I don't think work have the right to access your medical records. But a small employer will find it difficult to employ somebody whose sickness record has s lot of absences. Did you declare your medical diagnosis on your job application.

6 weeks is a long time to be off, especially as you work for a small employer

They probably need to know a timescale and if you're likely to be able to come back

You might be getting SSP only but that comes out of the employers pocket, plus temporary cover is expensive, so maybe they are struggling financially and need to understand what the future holds

This job is making you sick. It's not the right job for you.

Your employer will not get access to your full medical records, only the information they need. All they will get is a report.

You can ask to see the report first. You can also ask the doctor not to give any information you think is irrelevant or could be damaging. If you see the report first and disagree with it, you can refuse permission for it to be shared with your employer.

The fact your employer is a single individual means they may not be aware of the above. However, your doctor will be.

Ask your employer what he wants to gain from seeing medical notes between you and your gp? He is not medically trained and therefore how will this help them to read medical notes without understanding?

Ask this first before refusing

Hi OP...I lead a team and I once requested medical records from an employee after many prolonged periods of sickness but it wasn't full medical records, just information about the condition the employee said they had. It was all part of the paper trail as we wanted to show we'd done everything possible to support this person including making reasonable adjustments and getting any advice from their own doctor. No employee should ever be asked to release full medical records to their employer.

Presumably you've been asked to sign a release form? Check the wording and if you're happy in principle for them to see the part about the autism diagnosis, check the form is only allowing them to see that part. It should (in theory) all be in the wording. However if the wording feels like they're asking for more, get in touch with ACAS and ask for their advice on how to ensure work only gets to see the bits you're comfortable with.

You absolutely don't have to consent but in general if you're otherwise happy at work, I don't think it's a bad idea to cooperate with them to share limited medical info related to this one area.

I'd agree that there is an issue if you are working for a small enterprise.

While you may not have a clear sense of how long it will take you to recover, the firm is having either to leave the tasks you normally do undone, or reallocate your work to colleagues who may already have a big workload. Your burnout has also coincided with a period when people are on annual leave.

They may be thinking about whether or not to get agency cover if your absence is likely to be prolonged.

It is unfortunate if there's not much useful information that can be gained from your doctor and that there are also additional reasons why you are finding it hard to cope at present.

This is the sort of situation where a union rep would be useful, but it doesn't sound as if that sort of support would be available to you.

I'd recommend consulting ACAS and see what they advise.

Sorry I should add that what the employer actually sees is a report/summary of the condition, not your actual medical record or any notes of conversations etc.

The last one I received basically confirmed the person's name/condition they'd been diagnosed with and the regular treatment they'd been prescribed. That was it.

I’ve had similar with school

Ask them to give you a list of questions they want answered and that you will submit those you are comfortable with to your gp then feed back the answers- if there’s a cost for a gp letter make them aware that you’ll send them the invoice