I have received someone's disciplinary letter by email by mistake............

[Nailgirl]

So I've just opened my personal email account.
It is clearly Nail Girl @ gmail or whatever.

The email says "Dear Nail, as discussed details of the disciplinary for next week etc -see attachments" from Joan (insert another name).

Panicking -I hope the attachments as of course my first name is Nail.

Except this is a whole different person, name, address, medical details, and documents, OMG.

The email is signed off to her "best wishes for your wellbeing".

Not my company etc. -OMG.

I've emailed them back and said "Nail Girl is not Nail BonJovi -as should have been obvious from the email address. I suggest you contact Nail Bon Jovi pretty sharply and tell them that her confidential disciplinary stuff was sent to the wrong email. Obviously I opened the attachement due to the informal tone of the email that addressed me by my first name.

I will be printing off these documents tonight and posting them first thing in the morning to her address.

I asssume that this would be the right thing to do.

OP how do you know her address??

I know they have a legal obligation to, but I would eat my hat if they do.

Agree. They will not do this. It will be hushed up.

@DianaT1969

Not the point of this thread, but a warning about clicking links in emails and downloading attached documents. Don't do it! Malware people. This wasn't an email you were expecting. It wasn't from your company. It was signed off weirdly 'best wishes for your health' or similar. So if I have a bunch of Gmail accounts that I want to attack with malware, all I have to do it put the first part of the email name in the salutation and people like the OP will download it.

Really good point. OP, are you sure it wasn't something like that?

I assume the address is in the attachments?

@Lilifer

OP how do you know her address??

OP says the address was in the documents.I

Bit odd that they we're sending the woman her own medical records though...

*were

I wouldn't post it. You can reply to the company's general email address and notify the ICO yourself if you don't trust them.

OP, alternatively, I think you could report this to the ICO as a data breach and CC the company to let them know. Maybe use the sender's address, or maybe find a public contact address online?

That way they are accountable for the mistake and the person being disciplined doesn't face the humiliation of knowing you've seen it all.

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/report-a-breach/

I'd let the person know. That way they are aware of the mistake, and the company can't cover it up. They can take it further with the company if they wish.

If op just replies to sender, who is to say whether the company will inform the person that they've sent all their personal information to a random person.

Ironically, whoever sent OP that email should be getting their own disciplinary. Please don't print and send anything off. As pp have said, inform the sender they have sent it to the wrong address, and then delete it.

Of course you shouldn't print the documents and post them on.

Just contact the sender and tell them they've fucked up, maybe report the data breach, delete the documents and think no more of it.

OP I would contact the intended recipient. Also contact the company HR department who sent the original email. This is a major breach of GDPR and must be acted on. Imagine if it were the other way round, you’d like to know someone else knows the ins and outs of your professional situation through error.

Just reply to the company to let them know and delete the email. Really don’t think you need to go any further on this, if it was me I’d rather NOT know someone else had read all about my disciplinary.

@chocolateisavegetable

The company who sent the email in error have a legal obligation to inform the intended recipient of the breach and will need to inform the ICO. Do not print the documents and do not send to her.

But they might not do it.

If you want to do anything, report to the ICO.

@Nailgirl

So I've just opened my personal email account. It is clearly Nail Girl @ gmail or whatever.

The email says "Dear Nail, as discussed details of the disciplinary for next week etc -see attachments" from Joan (insert another name).

Panicking -I hope the attachments as of course my first name is Nail.

Except this is a whole different person, name, address, medical details, and documents, OMG.

The email is signed off to her "best wishes for your wellbeing".

Not my company etc. -OMG.

I've emailed them back and said "Nail Girl is not Nail BonJovi -as should have been obvious from the email address. I suggest you contact Nail Bon Jovi pretty sharply and tell them that her confidential disciplinary stuff was sent to the wrong email. Obviously I opened the attachement due to the informal tone of the email that addressed me by my first name.

I will be printing off these documents tonight and posting them first thing in the morning to her address.

I asssume that this would be the right thing to do.

You know it's not the right thing to do though

" if it was me I’d rather NOT know someone else had read all about my disciplinary."

It could help with the disciplinary though. The person being disciplined will now have something over the people disciplining her so I'd want to know.

Why on earth would you print and send them? Just reply to the email saying it's an error, delete, and forget about it. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill here.

@Gwenhwyfar

" if it was me I’d rather NOT know someone else had read all about my disciplinary."

It could help with the disciplinary though. The person being disciplined will now have something over the people disciplining her so I'd want to know.

Nobody knows what she's being disciplined for

I think the intended recipient has a right to know what's happened. It's a massive breach of confidentiality and GDPR by the company - and they will hide the evidence if all OP does is to email their HR department.

Regardless of whether the recipient's disciplinary is deserved or not, the company deserves to be hung out to dry over this.

This sounds like a scam to me, there's lots like it. I'd definitely check you haven't downloaded any malware and run your virus protection.

I would be more worried that I had opened a scam email. Does the company check out?

Oops crossed thread thinking the same thing.