Work HR: Preferred Pronouns are mandatory

[MoreThanAFeline]

Name changed for this. I wanted to update my address on the HR system at work. The instructions on how to do this say that something simple like updating an address can be done easily and that each section can be independently accessed.

When I try to click to the address part of the form, I get the attached error message.
Preferred Pronouns are apparently mandatory. My 'gender identity' is mandatory. My 'trans status' is mandatory. Sex is not asked for anywhere.

My workplace is supposed to be run by grown ups. How depressing.

Looking through that, I wonder whether the office junior who was sent on the D&I training course has been put in charge. Your employer has no mandatory right to know these things and is setting themselves up for a legal challenge.

I'm.in education. I hope I am sut of it before this comes to me. Those who do not want to be referred to as he/she according to their sex should specify their preferred pronoun.Surely it is as simple as that

This is awful OP. They are making you declare something highly personal, like declaring your religion or similar, and they know it. That's the whole point. It's a witchhunt to find out who the heretics are.

We have this. For pronouns I give “It” (as per username). If asked my gender I say “other” and if asked to specify say “sex:female”

In other situations I typically answer gender: none. Or, If there is no free text option “prefer not to say”

there are usually ways around it, but I agree, it’s maddening.

I don't think anyone cares about those.

Is the option "prefer not to say" available as an answer to all those questions? I've had to do something similar today and i just put that for everything.

Can’t you choose “prefer to self-describe” and use the free text box to explain the problems with pronouns/gender?

‘Self describe sexual orientation’ ? Why do they need to know this?

As for the question on Religion, I’d make up some new kind of religion that prevents me answering questions that aren’t relevant.

You could tell them that their system is causing you emotional harm because they're forcing you to reveal your identity against your will?

Don't have to tell them that your identity is 'Too fucking qualified in biology for this shit', just that they're committing literal violence against you.

I wouldn't bother going to HR: I'd go to your organisation's DPO (Data Protection Officer) and ask them to explain the lawful basis for HR processing this data. As @ResisterRex said, they have no lawful basis: they could attempt to rely on consent if the questions are not mandatory, and if they try to tell you that it's the organisation's legitimate interest, ask them what that interest is.

It's like making it mandatory to say what church you attend, isn't it?

I would be tempted to input a lot of contradictory nonsense, or contact HR complaining that you feel unsafe due to identifying as a zebra and it not being listed as an option. Or invent some highly exotic pronouns and insist everyone uses them.

I asked the SO I where I work and was told there is no legal basis for asking those questions. I was trying to be proactive

This is the maddest form I have ever seen. Sexual orientation!

And the White - E W NI British one!

I agree with going to the DPO and legal or risk team. You should be able to opt out of this at the very least. It’s MUST be freely given and only collected for legitimate purposes or they’re in breach. Ie your address is legitimate and relevant to your payslip but you are not obliged to disclose your sexuality, religion etc.

HR and diversity tend to get a bit overexcited about this stuff but the risk team should be rattled into fixing this and quickly.

It's not just data it's sensitive personal data. Making it mandatory is against GDPR.

In a practical sense 'Prefer to self describe' probably opens a free text box where you can put 'I don't believe in gender identity' and 'use the pronouns aligned with my sex'

Hope you get it sorted.

I've come across some nice suggestions for alternative pronouns recently, such as "fe/fi/fo/fum" and "hi/ho/hi/ho" ...

I'd also have a look through here:

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/special-category-data/what-is-special-category-data/#scd1

Being forced to reveal GC views (which is special category data) seems to be a likely result of these bizarre rules.

Not an expert but anyway

Your employer has a problem.
Each item of data has to be subjected to fair processing

You can work through a sequence of questions to work out if each data point is needed to be held on your personell file

So for your address
the first question is do we need it : yes (it can be multuple reasons but each one is a new function the employer needs to prove a need to collect process and store the data for each function in isolation)
Function 1: written communications
Function 2: WFH office with company assets
Function 3: staff costs and travel auditing
Etc

Function 1: written communications
Is the employer (not you) keeping the data up-to-date? No
(as your address has changed. (And you can not up-date as part of your employee duties))
Has the employer provided a method to up-date address and not collect excessive data not relevant to the address: No

So the computer says no is not fair processing.

And the gender identity / trans question has no lawful reason for collection.

Listing a specific disability is sensitive medical data so why is that needed if no adjustments are needed.

I would also argue that the storage of any PC is not needed if the reporting cycle is an annual report. A one use time-out link would be more appropiate.

It's a breach of GDPR as it goes against "data minimisation". I would tell your workplace HR team that, unless they make it possible to update your address without answering the gender ID question, you will report them to them to the Information Commissioner's Office, who could potentially issue the business with a hefty fine for the GDPR breach.

https://www.2b-advice.com/en/blog/what-is-data-minimization/#:~:text=The%20data%20minimisation%20principle%20also,prevent%20unauthorised%20persons%20from%20entering.

To be honest, I am really surprised that people in HR roles aren't aware of their GDPR responsibilities.

I am really surprised that people in HR roles aren't aware of their GDPR responsibilities.

You clearly have a much more competent HR department than our place. I'm never surprised by ours being unaware of any part of their job. In fact I'm only surprised when they do know something useful.

Nope. They can't require this. As others have said, it's a GDPR issue and a discrimination issue. It would actually discriminate against trans members of staff as they have legal protections against disclosure of their trans status (I know in reality it's rarely a secret). If you can't ask someone for a GRC, you can't ask them to declare their trans status just because someone in HR has been on a shit course.

Also, for what possible legitimate purpose could they need to know your marital status? I mean, WTF?!

I would send the DPO and HR an email with that screenshot and say there seems to be an error with the system, that you're trying to update your address and instead if it letting you edit that only, it's saying you have to also enter all sorts of information relating to protected characteristics that you're not comfortable disclosing. Could they please either edit your address to X or let you know when the error is fixed so that you can do it.

If they push back saying it's not a bug, at that point I'd raise that you believe that it's inappropriate and exposing the company to significant risk to be forcing employees to 'out' themselves as having a protected characteristic(s) and are concerned it's not compliant with GDPR and the restrictions on relevant information.

I'd do everything in my power to not nail my GC colours to the mast, I'd just make sweeping statements about 'outing' and 'discrimination'. I'm incredibly grateful to the warriors like Maya that have stood firm on this, but I've not got the mental ability to do that, it's a bigger risk that I'd be able to take. I have to limit myself to gardening for others.