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?)

Kind of feel like those saying IABU wouldn't be saying that if it were their HR typing up their grievance meeting on a busy train.

I don't mind being called nosey or even rude but I still don't actually think that makes me the unreasonable one in this situation.

Which section though?
and what personal data are you referring to?

Or lost some poor overworked woman her job.

If the OP really cared, she'd push her face further between the seats and tell the woman she can see her screen.

But I wouldn’t know would I? Neither would the person this HR person is writing about. And the person spying through the chairs doesn’t known them either, so the breach of privacy has no impact.

But you care so much that you've taken to a parenting forum to discuss it, rather than say "Hi, sorry but I can see everything on your screen there".

Ok.

Not sure I accept that as good enough, I expect better from people in a professional capacity.

With hindsight, you might have tapped her on the shoulder and said 'Excuse me, I can see everything you are writing and it looks confidential. I don't know the man or the company, but one day you might sit near someone who does.' Then at least she would know.

She knows that people can see! She has someone else sat right next to her! Do I need to tell her to remember to drink plenty of water too since it's hot?

Clearly she doesn’t. A quick tap of the shoulder would’ve solved all of this.

They’re just HR people for a company. Hardly the beacons of society.

Oh come off it.

Make all the excuses you want but you don't actually care enough to give her the heads up.

A few years ago, when GCSE and A Level exams were marked on paper, two examiners were sacked on the spot then their Principal Examiner spotted them not only marking on a train (public place - forbidden in contract), but discussing the marking (colluding marking - ditto) loudly enough to be overheard several seats away (breach of marking confidentiality - ditto).

The woman working on the train should be more careful but, honestly, peeking through the gap between seats to read a screen is really, really going the extra mile with nosiness. I can totally understand the error she made, of feeling she was typing confidentially in that situation.

Don't contact the company. That would make you officious on top of being nosy.

I saw a video online of someone from HR talking to what was presumably a manager discussing how to get rid of an employee. This was a zoom type meeting in a coffee shop!!
People should be far more aware of what they do in public.

I'd have taken a photo and tried to track him down and sent it to him.

Dh is in the biz and would total troll this person and report them too...

A gdpr breech about a gdpr breech...
Lmfao....

Handling of confidential data?? Writing notes on a train in clear view of anyone looking couldn't be more of an obvious breach

Well, I mean his name for starters! Even job titles can be personal data under the right circumstances. Data relating to an identified or identifiable individual. So in this case it sounds like a fair bit of what Op could see would count.

Don't complain to the company. Perhaps the poor woman is under pressure and has little choice but to work on the train. A friendly 'word to the wise' tupe intervention and suggest a privacy screen. Next time the person behind her might be taking screenshot on their phone.

She is likely breaking company policy here. Why didn’t you just tap her on the shoulder and make her aware that you could see the notes? That would have been a constructive way to handle it.

Oh the irony…

This. It may not have been a GDPR breach she was generating- could’ve been more sensitive.

Sorry i thought you meant he was raising a grievance about a GDPR breach. Yeah, she shouldn’t be doing that anyway. and if she needs to work on the train because it’s a high pressure job, she can easily buy a privacy screen for a fiver off Amazon.

I feel a bit sorry for the woman. Trying to get work done in transit, busy life etc. I mean it’s overall not great, but reporting her could really fuck her job up. I would consider that a totally awful busy body thing to do. I mean the data she working with, whilst confidential, isn’t earth shattering.

@Elphabababa The reasonable thing to do would have been to have given her a heads up. You now come across as a snitch and you know you will get her into trouble. No one is obviously flaunting the notes! You just wanted a good look to see what you could read.