Can Employee Assistance programs really be confidential?

[TheLittlePicker]

Just called mine and was asking for name, date of birth, department and personal email address.. they say it's confidential and nothing will be disclosed to employers but really? I would think at the very least, employers would receive stats and "anonymised" data.

Ours is. The company is billed for the service via HR and not told which employee it is.

I buy into one for my employees. I know how many calls they get from my staff. I know how many different people have called. That's it. I know nothing else at all.

The only actual calls I know of are where the staff themselves have told me how helpful it was.

They are

Ours asks for your name and contact details ando company - so they know who to bill. They say they will ask more in specific circumstances, e.g. if you call asking how to deal with a problem manager, they will want to know the name, because they will flag with the employer if there is a pattern of complaints against a single person (never occurred to me that the EAP was somewhere to go for that, I'd go to a more senior manager and/or HR in that case.) But if you're calling about pretty much anything else, then yes, it is anonymous, and it's been that way at the two employers where I have used the EAP. Doesn't mean they're all like that.

Yes, they are. Please use the service if you are struggling they are invaluable.

Our private health care isn’t properly anonymous- employer gets anonymised statistics

(checked with healthcare provider)

But, yes, EAP should be properly anonymous

Thanks everyone.