Occupational health sending report to my manager that contains really personal things - AIBU

[thfgre45tyhgfd]

I've been off work due to poor mental health, and as part of my return to work I have had a meeting with occupational health. It was a long meeting that was really personal and they have written up a report to send to my manager and HR. I asked to see the report before it gets sent, and it's really upset me to be honest. It's so personal and talks about things I wouldn't even tell my closest friends. AIBU to want to edit it to remove a lot of the details? For example, it mentions things about me struggling to get out of bed, isolating myself from my friends and things I've worried about.

It's made the return to work process even more stressful as I categorically do not want my line manager to know all of this about me.

Does anyone have any experience in this to know if I'm being unreasonable? The report also includes a back to work plan with actionable steps and targets - surely that's the important part rather than hearing all about my personal struggles?

Bump (sorry). Just wondering if anyone has any advice

They wrote down what you told them. Did you say at the time you didn’t want it all included?

I don't know. I can understand why you don't want that information shared. But at the same time it does give your line manager a lot of context about how serious your condition is.

I am in HR and you absolutely can choose what goes in the report and how much you want to disclose just be aware that we only want to know what we can do to support your return to work and what are reasonable adjustments to do so.

But its good to keep in mind that HR can only act with the information that is given or what we know if that makes sense.

Hope it helps!

I don’t have any advice, sorry, but just wanted to send you some empathy as I had some cringy details written up by HR when I was off sick once with anxiety, feeling incredibly vulnerable, and had blurted out quite a lot on the phone to a nice HR lady which she then wrote up in a report that my manager saw. It can feel intensely exposing.

I think you’re reasonable to feel the way you do and it’s okay to question at work and say you’re not happy with how it’s been handled. I don’t know the rules about it all but medical data is classed as sensitive so perhaps it shouldn’t have been shared with your manager without express permission? I’m really not sure but do question it until you’re satisfied.

LOL a few years ago I was signed off work for 5 weeks due to depression and the only thing HR were interested in was getting rid of me. I’ve never worked for a company where HR actually gives a fuck about the employees.

No they shouldn't have wrote that, normally they ask you if you're okay to have that sort of information detailed in their report.

The reports are very, very detailed. I’ve read many team members (as their manager) and I’m surprised by what’s in it. Like you say, the only detail we’re interested in is extra support and return to work recommendations.

Well I agree that not all HR is the same and some do act that way. Personally in the company I work for that is not the case and we support the employees as much as we can.

I think I've understood correctly that they've sent it to you first, as requested? That's why they do it. If there's things you want removing tell them that.

And 5 weeks is not enough time to dismiss anyone. You would have had grounds for unfair dismissal

You have to give your consent for any information from the meeting to be shared - but of course your personal information could be removed whilst still leaving the ‘what can you do to help @thfgre45tyhgfd return to work/ get better / reasonable adjustments’
I would call occ health and request them to remove the elements which you want to remain confidential. Follow that up with a written copy / email of what you want to be removed .

HR are there to protect the employer, not to care.

To be fair as an employer it is reasonable to understand the triggers for sickness absence particularly if the absence is either continuous or likely to occur again. When looking at absence triggers it does help to have the facts around the absence to ensure the correct and reasonable support is put into place to support good attendance so I don’t see what the issue is really.

HR are there to minimise risk for the employer. Sometimes that means they have to care.

You absolutely can request the personal information be taken out.

Maybe because you are depressed op but did you miss the purpose of the meeting? They are ultimately there on behalf of your company. You obviously chose to tell them a lot of personal stuff which was obviously not ideal. I do feel for you. I'm just wondering why you told them.

HCP here
Occ health provide a report and advice to your manager on your fitness to return to work and any reasonable adjustments they may need to make.

BUT there is absolutely no need for them to disclose all your medical details in order to provide the advice.
You can absolutely request this is not to be shared with any non- medical person such as your manager

I'm astonished tbh the OH reports I've seen have been exceptionally vague/sensitively worded? Certainly not specific details about e.g. not being able to get out of bed. Some of the reports were almost cryptic.

I thought the point was that they needed to be specific/detailed regarding the recommendations because that is what the employer needs to consider, as opposed to the details of the precipitating illness.

The meeting itself was really intense - around an hour long and very specific questions. I'm a very private person so I thought I had been quite vague but because there were so many questions it was hard not to give personal information. For example, I was asked to describe my social life and then how it was when my mental health was at its worst so I said something like 'yeah I have some close friends, but when my mental health was at its worst I guess I just kind of kept it all to myself' and that got turned into '[My name] described how she isolated herself from close ones'.

I did mention in the call I was concerned about the report as a lot of the questions had been personal, and I was told that it would be written in more of a professional way but it hasn't really. I wasn't offered to have it sent to me first, I had to request that as otherwise it would have just gone straight to HR and my manager. It has things like '[My name] described how she had difficulty in keeping up with personal care, although this is now better'. I don't want my manager knowing I struggled with this. I'm so upset by it.

No, I understood the purpose of the meeting and I'm usually a very private and guarded person. Even in my GP appointments I'm quite conscious of how much detail I want to divulge. I think the issue is the meeting was so detailed and in-depth that I couldn't really avoid it as the questions themselves were very personal. They asked about every area of my life and my short answers were then followed by lots of follow-up questions.

I'd received a few occupational reports over the years.

I only remember one which was very detailed & that person was recovering after a car crash.

Any of the others which were as a result of stress, depression, anxiety, bereavement or non visible matters were usually very vague in nature.

They usually read as follows:

X attended for their scheduled appointment on day/time.
I am advised their own gp has recommended a further sick cert of x weeks
I concur with this or I expect this to be extended by a further X number of weeks
X is not a position to return to work or I recommend a phased return to work as follows or while X has expressed an interest to return to work, I believe that this would be premature.

As a manager I don't need any additional details, unless the colleague wants me to know them and have never requested them. If a medical professional says someone isn't fit for work, then who am I to challenge it.

Ask them to take out anything personal.

If they don't remove the detail you request you could always revoke your consent to them holding or sharing your sensitive personal data and ask them to delete it? Ask to speak to their data controller?

I guess you didn't defend yourself because you aren't feeling too good? I get that. Next time remember you don't have to answer any question you don't want.

I'm not in HR so I don't know the norm but I do have a manager I would not share my vulnerabilities with. Just amend up the note as you would like your manager to see it and say you don't consent to share anything else. Hopefully that is the end of it.

This is also a third party company rather than my employer, not sure if that makes a difference?

I've been told I can make edits, but the edits I want to make are basically removing most of the report and just leaving the actionable steps and maybe some of the more work-related things. I'm not sure if I can do that though, as I guess my employer is paying for them to provide a report and if I cut all of that out is that even allowed?

I had to give permission for them to access my medical records and permission to share the report with my manager and HR. But I would like to write something in the email saying I don't consent to that personal information being shared and want to almost revoke that consent if that makes sense, but I don't know if that will mean I'm not complying with the process and my employer will be annoyed?

I'm not sure whether to mention to HR/my manager that I found the report quite intrusive and overly personal. I know mental health difficulties mean that the issue is personal, but it is so detailed I wouldn't even want friends or family reading it, let alone my employer.

It's so bad that my first thought was to just hand in my notice and not return to work rather than having my manager know all of that about me.