To think that my manager shouldn't be telling my colleagues this?

[gthyjuyhtrew]

I tested positive for COVID so couldn't go into the office for a meeting. I messaged my manager to let her know. I didn't tell anyone else the specific reason, I just said I was unwell.

A colleague then brought up that I had had COVID. The only way they would have known is if my manager had told him.

I don't really care and it was never a secret. I'm quite new to the company too for context. I guess it's just made me second guess what I can tell my manager.

(Also I hadn't been to the office for 2+ weeks when I tested positive so it's not like my colleagues needed to know they had been in contact with me)

It would breach our general employee confidentiality policy
People report reason for absence direct to me and I always ask if they wish me to share the reason for absence
If not it’s just off sick or off for personal reasons
When we had to tell others who could have been Covid contacts we still couldn’t give a name without consent although everyone could make a good guess

I worked in the public sector. Policy was not to disclose reasons for sickness absence to anyone unless there was a legal reason for them to have to know. When someone reported something like chicken pox, I would email all staff saying 'a staff member has reported having chicken pox, so if you have concerns, see your GP or other medical professional'. In my view, you can tell anybody you like about your medical problems, but it's not for me or anyone else to do so.

I totally get the lack of trust in your manager, OP. Perhaps raise this privately with them when you are well again.

I don't know. It makes me uncomfortable, as our line manager does this. She told my team I was off having counselling. She used it a few times to humiliate me in front of team members. I don't think it's on unless you say it's okay. Sorry to seem precious but it's shit to worry when you ring in wondering who will be told. I now have to make something up if it's a bit sensitive which is rubbish.

We do tell other managers if it comes up but don’t tell the team as it’s sometimes personal medication info. When I had it my colleagues knew they could tell the team as I’m an open book, but as a manager I respect others personal info and don’t divulge it. We have just returned to the office but some staff haven’t returned as they have covid / coughs / colds which we have said stay at home with, so I’ve just said they aren’t back yet

Yanbu.
In our company, everyone knew who else had covid and it had to be logged as such in the company system even when we were working from home all the time.
If the person is ill enough to be off sick then tell people he or she is unwell, if not it's irrelevant.
I believe personal medical information is personal and shouldn't be shared with third parties.

To the people saying it's only covid, I think we get that, but it's the principle of it really. With our line manager it started like this and then became common knowledge even on Teams meetings if it was private; i.e like mine, I would have preferred everyone not knowing I was in counselling.

[quote elephantmarchingin]@EarringsandLipstick Urm yes it is. Obviously you haven't worked in a big company/school environment. Companies were responsible for contract tracing especially schools. It was passed onto NHS but we had to contract trace [/quote]
You did not go telling individual people to isolate. You passed that info to NHS, as you said, and they did the contact tracing.

Cos if you did the first one, that's a massive breach at a nationwide UK level.

[quote TheNameOfTheRoses]@EarringsandLipstick sorry but contact tracing at national level has folded a really long time ago.

People do not have to stay t home if they have covid anyway so there is no need for contact tracing unless you WANT to do it. And no company will because in less than 1 week there will be no testing available either. Unless you want to pay for your own LTF etc… (about £2 each. As far as I know even HCP in the NHS would have to pay for their own LFT….)[/quote]
I wasn't saying currently. 🙄

I was saying what was the practice, when it happened.

No way did individual employers inform individual contacts in a workplace (as a PP suggested). And if they did, that's an even bigger problem.

@butterpuffed

During the height of the pandemic , shouldn't people who all worked together not have been told if a colleague had covid then ? Ridiculous.

No.

No, IMO they shouldnt. My boss does things like this as he is just now aware enough and it make me furious sometimes.

@worriedaboutmoney2022

Why is everyone so hung up whether people have Covid or not? If one of us gets it we put it in the group chat

People are bloody weird and precious

Fine - if you choose to. Many in my workplace do too.

However, when one of my direct reports tells me they have Covid, I inform our Covid response team, with the understanding of the employee, but do not tell anyone else. It's up to the employee if they do.

[quote girlmom21]@luckylavender that doesn't make it a GDPR breach. [/quote]
Telling others why anyone is off sick is a breach of confidentiality! You may think telling colleagues that someone has Covid is okay, but do you think telling them that a colleague has cancer is okay. Or telling them that someone has had a miscarriage or having transition surgery is okay? No? That’s why NO medical or personal information at all should be shared! Once people start choosing what information to share, it becomes subjective, rather than objective (which is what it should be)!

My firm tells everyone. It's so the staff who are in the office and have possibly had contact know and can make decisions about wfh/ testing

Your firm is massively in the wrong if they disclose personal information about an individual.

[quote MyBottleOfRibena]@girlmom21

So you think it is ok then? Just because it might not be written down? It’s still personal information regardless of it being written down.

So if I called my manager and said I’d had a miscarriage, it would be ok for her to tell everyone that as long as it wasn’t written down?[/quote]
I didn't say it was ok. I said it's not a breach of GDPR. HTH.

** Massive over reaction.

Saying you have covid these days is like saying you have a cold.**

^I agree

@EarringsandLipstick that's literally what schools and colleges were told to do! Do some research

I see some people see it as not a big deal so that's likely how my manager viewed it.

I haven't had much experience with managers/'professionalism' as I'm quite early on in my career. At previous jobs my managers have always been more professional (for lack of a better word) i.e. wouldn't chat or socialise with us really. There was this distinct barrier between us. Whereas this workplace is a lot more laid back and casual and social which I like but I just have found it a big of an adjustment. I had wanted to disclose something private to my manager but just had an inkling not to, which is why this example has made me want to ask the general consensus of whether I should use this as a reason to not divulge personal information to my manager.

Also I don't care who knows I have COVID. I only found out my colleague knew because I brought it up in a conversation with them

If anything I didn't want to tell everyone as I thought it would be attention seeking lol

@gthyjuyhtrew if you want to divulge and as for it to be kept confidential she should respect that

@EarringsandLipstick please see recent change below to guidance. I can't find the original as I'm on my phone and need to go back through the archives but it clearly states that we were responsible for contact tracing etc

'Education Minister, Michelle McIlveen said: “I recognise the significant burden and challenges that principals have faced since the start of the new term in trying to support contact tracing in schools.
“I want to particularly acknowledge the incredible efforts of school leaders, staff and board of governors in ensuring that effective contact tracing has been in place.
“Over the last few days I have held meetings with the Minister of Health and his officials to urgently resolve this issue.
“It has been agreed that from tomorrow, the PHA’s Contact Tracing Service will take forward the work of contact tracing in schools without the significant level of involvement of school staff that has been the case to date. Only those with the closest contact will be required to isolate and take a PCR test. This move is another step towards normality.”'

From the ICO

ico.org.uk/global/data-protection-and-coronavirus-19/?msclkid=40704b40ac6e11ecae3471eb34321b3a

Managing positive cases in the workforce

Data protection law doesn’t prevent you from keeping staff informed about potential or confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst their colleagues. However, you should avoid naming individuals wherever possible and you should not provide more information than is necessary

Note that it doesn't say 'Must'

I think as a pp above said it's important for it to stay objective otherwise it becomes a slippery slope as it has in my workplace.

@Bodgerbarbara

I don't know. It makes me uncomfortable, as our line manager does this. She told my team I was off having counselling. She used it a few times to humiliate me in front of team members. I don't think it's on unless you say it's okay. Sorry to seem precious but it's shit to worry when you ring in wondering who will be told. I now have to make something up if it's a bit sensitive which is rubbish.

@Bodgerbarbara

If you have a manager over her, HR or a legal or Finance director you could raise that as a internal risk.
Point out that as well as bullying there is a fine for a data breach up to 4% of the organisations turnover.
Many senior managers will act to prevent a fine faster than bullying.
If they think there is a direct financial cost and they may end up having to explain how it happened self preservation kicks in.

www.itgovernance.co.uk/dpa-and-gdpr-penalties#:~:text=The%20UK%20GDPR%20and%20DPA,whichever%20is%20greater%20%E2%80%93%20for%20infringements.

The UK High Court ruled oral disclosures (in this case provided during a telephone call) do not constitute “data”, for the purposes of the DPA 1998, and consequently do not fall within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that has now superseded it.

Technically yes your manager was wrong to share this as it is personal medical information. However, it probably didn’t even occur to them that this would be sensitive as everyone and their dog has had Covid in the last couple of years. If it was something less universal keeping you off, I’m sure your manager would be more discreet. I wouldn’t get wound up about it at all.