Is this GDPR breach

[Harass3d]

A complaint has been lodged with my employer about a comment I made on social media (not upheld!). This complaint has come from the head teacher at my son's school and he has identified himself as such (fine) but then goes on to identify me as a parent (which has no relevance to his complaint) am I right in thinking this is a breach of GDPR? It is no business of my employers where my son goes to school.

You are indeed entitled to an opinion but going anywhere near social media with your opinion was not a wise move.

have you thought about your son's future at the school, if you intend to pursue some sort of complaint against this person? Will you be changing his school? Could it turn really nasty?....

It would be better to put it down to experience, let the whole thing blow over (especially as your employer is not taking any further action relating to the teacher contacting them) and be careful what you do with your opinion, because if it falls into the wrong hands, as it has done, then it risks someone taking offence and doing nasty things. It doesn't make them right but it does cause a load of unnecessary pain.

In short - just because you "have the right" to your opinion, doesn't mean you have to exercise your right.

There has got to be a back story to this. For a head teacher to seek out a parent’s workplace to complain about a FB post suggests there is a history of antagonism between the two of you. Did your FB post allude to a specific incident at the school?

If he did access the records for that purpose may well be a data breach.

It's also possibly libel (if what he said was false) and it he causes you harm you could sue. You would need to prove his statement was false though and libel actions are expensive. Of course, you could face a counter claim in libel if what you said was false

But it may be worth some legal advice given the impact on your job

In figure - be careful what you say on social media. It can be screenshotted and shared in a moment. My 10 year old has grasped this point already so adults should be able to

I've stated what I wrote about him on social media & that really is it.

I don't need a GDPR "Gotcha" as posted up thread he has made malicious and false accusations against me & that's what I'm taking forward.

it's not necessarily a GDPR breach unless he used your son's records to identify you. so, he could have googled your name and found your employer that way eg if you have a LinkedIn profile.
But if he cited your son in his compliant then that means he did try to match up uour Facebook profile with your son. I'd complai to the governors saying that this was a private post on a page expressing clearly an opinion you held and that his complaint to your employers was uncalled for. he didn't even approach you first to ask you to remove it.

Absolutely.

The more drip feeds, you can see we're not getting the full story here.

@Harass3d

Why did you call him useless in the first place - what triggered you posting that?

@madamweb are you suggesting the OP should consider taking legal action.... really???

But it may be worth some legal advice given the impact on your job

what impact? The OP has stated

It has absolutely nothing to do with my work, nor could it be in anyway misinterpreted as being said on behalf of my organisation. My work are not upholding it which is fine

Identifying you as a parent at a particular school, probably not a GDPR breach.

But yes, accessing your son’s records for purposes not related to why they are held by the school, if it can be proved, and then potentially harassing you via your employer, is a serious GDPR breach and probably of his professional code of conduct. I would definitely pursue a complaint, via the school/governors and Ofsted.

I've no intention of suing him. I would like an apology for the false claims that's it.

I am perfectly aware that it can be screenshot and sent, I am also standing by my opinion on him as a HT which has been built on the experiences I have had. Again, it was not made on a public forum to tell my employer that is untrue, he has received this info by someone screenshotting ana sending it to him - I do wonder if he saw the whole thread and complained to the employer if everyone else who was stating there dissatisfaction with the school.

He could also sue you for defamation for your original post. I think the letter to your employer is a warning shot.

It could be, he only has the information about you because your child is at the school and he has that in order to manage your child’s education.

I hope your employer told him to fuck off, he shouldn’t be in that job if he’s so thin skinned.

You post is a little confusing without seeing how he identified you. You being "a parent" is not identifiable information and I am sure your employer is already aware that you are one. Him saying "Harass3d is a parent of Matthew Smith who is an 11-year-old attending Basildon Academy" is a different matter. But even then, I am not sure it would strictly fall under GDPR.
What you post on social media is in public domain so also fine to share screenshots.
The only concern is accessing your son's records but we don't know whether it is the case. Why is your employer listed in your son's records anyway?

He could only sue her for defamation if the information was untrue

As for GDPR, isn’t it more likely person who sent him screenshot told him where you work? Whoever it was must be one of your FB friends.

So you put "in my professional opinion, the school is a shambles and the head isn't up to the job" on a private social media post.

And he's written to your employer.

That's what you're saying.

Like other PP state, he wouldn't be able to make any "case" against you if that's what you'd put.

Now you're trying to back pedal to leave your profession out of it. But you just had to write "in my professional opinion..." to try and add weight to your words. You did that, not him.

Maybe a lesson learned by both parties? Neither of you come out of it well.

I doubt if GDPR covers knowing what school someone's kid goes to. That's not confidential information or considered sensitive information. The head may know where you work from simply googling your name. I agree it's bizarre to complain to your employer - although it does depend on what you actually posted - if you are in a role where there is a requirement to maintain a certain standard of public behaviour then it could be appropriate.

He clearly thinks it is untrue if he’s gone to such lengths to stop her spouting off. He’s sending her a warning with this initial complaint.

I don't need a GDPR "Gotcha" as posted up thread he has made malicious and false accusations against me & that's what I'm taking forward.

taking forward? I think you need to take a breathe and decide the consequences of "taking it forward" and how it will affect your son's education. Put aside your own needs, think about the actions you took to get o this point and think carefully how this will impact your son if you take things further, because you can bet your bottom dollar it won't be kept under wraps, whatever you decide to do and your son will be the one to suffer.

Be the adult here.

I also think OP’s profession is more relevant than she is letting in and that she must work with children in some capacity.

Saying he’s useless is not going to amount to defamation. Saying something like he had sex with goats (for example) might be.

I think he was wrong to do this, but your second paragraph is a bit rich given that’s exactly what you’ve done to him, and arguably more publicly.

This is totally unhinged and inappropriate by the headteacher, I would look at escalating it, by commenting on the school you’ve not done anything wrong, but he is clearly very stressed or has mental health problems as never ever should anyone from the school do this!

My son has additional support needs, everything is a fight with the school, they are slow to communicate & ultimately I was very frustrated with an issue I had raised taking months to conclude.

He was totally in the wrong! But regardless of what others said, slating him and the school on SM was a bit stupid! As a healthcare worker you know there are strict guidelines on SM and what is acceptable to post, slating a school when the correct process is to make a complaint to Ofsted is pretty juvenile IMO! Your employers may just be wondering what you’re saying about them in SM!