AIBU to think writing confidential HR notes on a train is inappropriate?

[Elphabababa]

I am on a train in the UK.

Someone on the seat in front of me is writing up meeting notes from work. All clearly visible through the gaps between seats. I am slightly long sighted mind you.

I have seen that:

• She works in HR for company X
• The meeting was for an employee named Y (I can see his name and job title), following him raising a grievance about a GDPR breach of his data within work.
• Subsequent notes of the meeting about this grievance.

She's still typing her notes now.

AIBU for thinking that people should be very mindful of what work they complete in public places? And that this is inappropriate, and if Y found out that these notes were being written in full public view, they would have a further grievance on their hands?

Or am I a nosey parker?

(Or both?)

Yes I would. Just because it’s chewing gum doesn’t make it right! Stealing is stealing. Everyone else has to pay for it!

Completely inappropriate. I work in a very heavily regulated industry and we have endless training on this sort of thing (for good reason, it appears!)

Contacting the company in question doesn't necessarily mean the person will get in trouble, it may highlight a weakness in their training that needs to be addressed.

The subject of this person's report is entitled to confidentiality and that has been breached.

That’s wrong and breaking company confidentiality rules. If work found out or the mentioned person found out, she’d be up for gross misconduct!

Inappropriate? Yes. Would I care? No. I don’t concern myself with what others are doing. I’m more concerned about the fact you read such screen to know all the details you do and have then come onto MN to ask about it. You don’t have much going on in life, do you?

What is inappropriate is you making the effort to read something's on someone else's device. Mind your business!

I can't believe you read the screen, memorised the contents, then rushed to Mumsnet to report this woman. The courteous thing to do would have been to tell her you can see her notes. You'd have come across as like someone with way too much time on your hands though, and far too interested in other people's private business. Do you read people's private messages on their phones, with your fantastic eyesight, as well? Where's the dignity in that? You need a kindle and a few good books downloaded, to while away these boring train journeys.

Just asking for a friend - it wasn’t a midlands based train and a company starting with a C by any chance?

Contact the company.
I'm even nosier than you, hence I'm a journalist..
I would also be searching for the man concerned, via Internet & social media... and make him aware.

Would you not read a book or look out of the window on a train journey? I mean I would have probably had a nose too but not thought for one minute to report them.. 😬

haha! What an irony! I used to work a lot from the train but we had to have a screen cover for confidentially.

Oooo more personal quips, beautiful.

Ignore them op. Even if you were being “nosey” the HR woman was way more in the wrong than you for having the information on public display when they, as an employee of the company have a duty to keep confidential information private.

The amount of people on here advising to call the company and effectively try and get her fired, is mind boggling. And I cannot believe you OP, posted this on here. Mind your business.

She is right though. Get a life

Indeed this person is writing a report for data breech, whilst committing their own data breech.

Let the company know.

A couple of years ago I was trying to look out the window on a train, but the person in front of me’s phone was reflected, and for like twenty minutes he was just scrolling through photos of naked men.

In fairness, if the child was in the house she may have been trying to protect the child from over hearing .
I had a lot of calls in my car for that reason!

I don’t think you should report it to the company! Perhaps the person was in a rush to complete said notes etc and just completely overlooked people can see her laptop. Sometimes I do confidential work on a train but just turn my brightness down… maybe she forgot to do that? I don’t think it’s worth her losing her job over just because you saw what she was writing. She might then lose her job and might be supporting her kids etc - who knows

But true…

She's being very inappropriate to do that work in public. At companies I've worked for she's certainly be disciplined if caught.

If you were that concerned, why not tap her on the shoulder and point out your concerns to her?
Did you complain to the company?
If you did nothing, what is the purpose of your post? We can't do anything?

That's not what I'm saying. It's more like peering through a hole in your fence at your naked neighbour.