Confidential information being discussed online?

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So if you were depressed and the reason for it was a confidential issue

Only 3 people know the reason (line manager, colleague A and HR)

What would you do if a colleague was discussing the reason online in a closed forum?

Eg.

I'm off sick for stress
I am stressed because of divorce that I don't want made public
I told HR, my Boss. And Adam. All wee told it was confidential.
Now John who left the company 3 months has posted on a closed forum that I am off sick because of divorce.

The information has leaked and is being spread.

What's my next step?

You told your bosses (duty to keep it confidential and probably did).

You told your mate Adam (moral duty to keep it confidential but probably didn't).

You can't blame your work for the breach. They can't discipline Adam for gossiping about you when it was you that told him. They can't disclipline John because he no longer works there. Also they wouldn't have been able to discipline him for passing on gossip Adam told him even if he still worked there. They could have asked him not to pass it on any further as it was upsetting another member of staff.

Gossip happens, particularly if no reasons are given. We had a manager who had a few months leave a while back. No reason was given. There was plenty of speculation, though, including bad divorce, bereavement, serious illness such as cancer, prison sentence... It would probably have been less damaging to have been up-front about it being depression.

But my point is that people will gossip and speculate, and sometimes, they'll be right (and other times, totally off.) So it may not have been down to one of the original three.

Could John be talking about it because it's obvious/educated guess rather than because he was explicitly told?

Either way i don't think there's much you can do about it and it's probably best to rise above. What is the closed forum? Does it belong to the company you all work for? That might change things. But sounds like you've got enough on your plate without another big issue at work though.

I worked somewhere once where a person working there was transgender but had lived as their chosen sex since before starting to work and hadn't told anyone at work. Some other people were gossiping about it on Facebook and a massive hoo ha erupted, people hauled into offices, fights etc. The person was very upset that they'd let it out in the office, people were disciplined. They clearly thought noone knew until a couple of idiots put it online. Thing was, literally everyone already knew or guessed, they just didn't care or didn't find it relevant to the workplace apart from the couple of idiots.

it is not obvious at all!

It is comparable having your appendix removed. no-one would ever know unless you told them. iyswim?

sorry appendix removed....i'd see someone not quite standing straight, if you had surgery within a weeks time i'd see pale skin. i'd also notice you asking people to lift random heavy things for you. where the IV was started on your forearm i'd still be able to see the poke mark, possibly bruises from post op blood tests....
any reasonably astute person could spot that with a 10 foot pole.
divorce or marital discord is almost just as obvious.

Is the closed forum a work forum? If so, then legally they should have removed the comment immediately and I guess data protection would cover you.

If non work then I think it's harder, but if it is clear someone broke confidentiality you could sue. Sorry to say I have been told all kinds of confidential shit by the 2ic in the last place I worked.

Agree that if Adam is the leak and you told him as a friend, that's different than line manager and HR.

What's my next step?
Maintain a dignified silence. If anyone asks you about it, just smile and say you don't want to discuss personal matters and change the subject.

Irrespective of the company policy it was pretty bloody low down of anyone to post a derogatory label on you when you're off sick. Unfortunately people kick you when you're down. They can be resentful about sickness absence.

I wouldn't get HR involved as it just adds to the complexity of your absence. Hope things improve hopefully the derogatory comment has been removed by the site moderators. Thats worth sorting out direct with them.

outtopasture no honestly, you would not know. Pretend I had my appendix removed 10 years ago...! :)

It's difficult to prove it wasn't Adam. Do you trust him? Does he know John socially?

If it's divorce, it could have leaked via a friend of a friend of a friend of your ex, iyswim. Similarly, a medical issue from years ago could have reared its head again via an old contact who happens to know John now. Six degrees of separation and all that.

A guy at my university, M, had become a father at 16, but managed to keep it quiet at uni until our final year when someone from our course randomly ended up in conversation with someone from M's old school at a gig in London -conversation turned to M when the girl mentioned the name of her home town - "oh yes. I know M - and I also know Jane, the mum of his son"....

Have you been named on the forum?