The HR employee told another colleague my salary

[Takeitonthechin]

Just that really....

I thought I'd found a place I really liked working, but I've been put in an awkward situation. I work for a small company, not been there long and when one of my colleagues was dealing with my paperwork when I started at the company she saw how much my salary was and told the other colleague in the office. She said she did it because she was so upset that I was getting more than her as she'd worked for the company for quite a few years. She gave a sob story of how she felt she'd been let down by the company in different ways and on one hand I feel sorry for her but on the other I feel so upset that wearing the HR hat, she should keep this information confidential. Now I feel I cannot trust her and need to start looking for another job.

Definitely out of order.

Can you speak to a line manager about it?

Take it higher, she’s out of order.

I have thought about talking to my line manager, but what can she do, if she has to discipline her, I still have to share an office and work with my colleague, it only makes it awkward

I assume she is not actually the HR manager or similar, but is an office manager or admin person who also has to deal with HR paperwork/admin in the absence of a proper HR department?

Doesn’t make it ok obviously, although perhaps slightly easier to understand.

As she is not your line manager it seems a bit extreme to want to leave your job over the issue. Is there more to it?

No, no more to it Flowery, it is just what I said

She sounds unprofessional and needs to be pulled up on her behaviour but to leave over this one thing seems a bit extreme.

In that case you are overreacting wanting to leave because someone found out your salary. If you earn more than others, it would make more sense for them to want to leave over it, or for the company to be cross with the person who let it slip and therefore has perhaps caused resentment among those who don’t earn as much.

It sounds a bit like you've been looking for an excuse to leave. Of course it's unprofessional and you can take it further, but leaving is an overreaction if you like the job, like the salary, like the company and like the majority of staff.

Don't leave over such a trivial matter OP. Remember that your employer has agreed your salary level based on the skills they value and your past skills and experience plus an element of what you've commanded in your last role.

Think positively, you're being remunerated correctly, it could be their salary level has slipped back, and hasn't kept pace with market rates, which can happen if they've worked there many years. Who knows.

If this colleague is disgruntled, that's a matter for her and her employer to settle, nothing to do with you. Her issue.

She should be worried about her job. Surely that’s a sackable offence

Are you embarrassed by your salary? Do you think you earn too much? Are you a fraud who doesn't deserve the salary you were offered and accepted?

No? Then hold your head up high. Numerated competence is nothing to be ashamed of.

Don't leave because of this.

I earned more than everyone else of the same level, in my last job. It was tough shit. I negotiated a better partly based in the fact that they wanted me.

Who has she told. Because if she has told someone who can do something about the situation, that's slightly different. So for example if she has put a request for a pay rise, and stated you salary as an example of why hers is too low.

She needs to be reminded that data is personal GDPR training perhaps? But it's not a reason for you to leave.

Some companies are transparent about salaries. Which is a good thing.

She should be worried about her job. Surely that’s a sackable offence

It is not, on its own, likely to be gross misconduct that would have her walked off site.

She's been there many years, it sounds like it's an SME, no HR. They probably do value her in terms of employee stability, knowing a lot about their business at an admin level. It wouldn't be in their best interests to lose her over this matter and marching her down the disciplinary route would be damn harsh for this.

Sadly, the people/roles doing sterling work at a grassroots level won't earn big bucks, they aren't necessarily the "rising stars" but they add their value. Hopefully they'll give her a bit of extra if she's been left to languish and they'll both be content.

Some companies are transparent about salaries. Which is a good thing

Double edged sword. Yes very good to expose inequality between M / F Unfortunately it often breeds discontent, which employers find disruptive. An organisational can of worms.

Not GDPR, if it's verbal. GDPR relates to electronic storage and use of personal identifiable data including permission to use and disseminate,, like its predecessor the Data Protection Act

daisychain you've misunderstood the basics of data protection laws because it's not simply related to the electronic storage of data. It's about any personal information that a company holds, even if it's contained on handwritten notes.

In this case, it is most definitely a breach of GDPR because the employee disclosed personal information relating to another employee to a third employee, without a lawful reason. At a minimum, she needs some extra training but I would also want to see a formal discipline process undertaken to ensure she appreciates the gravity of what she's done.

OP, I think you should complain to a senior manager and ask them to investigate.

sewing Verbal discussion does not fall under GDPR, that's a fact.

Data Protection Act was put in place to cover data held on electronic computer records.

GDPR is an extension of the DP Act to recognise the proliferation of Social Media and also to tighten up on the obligation for opt-in rather than opt-out. Plus to clarify and tighten up wording about the administrative roles and legal obligations of activities involved in computer records with roles such as Data Controller.

Written paper records are not the same as someone talking about someone else's salary. "Talk" in an office is not covered by GDPR. The chances of the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) being in any way interested in enforcing GDPR on an administrator talking about someone's salary in an office situation is somewhere between zilch and bugger all.

The OP’s salary isn’t stored verbally though. It is stored electronically and/or on paper. GDPR doesn’t allow personal data processed by an organisation to be shared with all and sundry as long as it’s only done verbally.

The employer should have in place an employee privacy notice specifying what personal data they hold, why they hold it, and who that data is accessed by/shared with. If the privacy notice states (for example) that salary information is only shared with line manager, HR and payroll, then the HR person telling other staff members that information is in breach of the privacy notice.

I can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t believe their rights with regards to personal data hadn’t been breached if (for example) a receptionist at the doctors surgery told all their mates down the pub about medical history. That wouldn’t be ok just because the information was only shared verbally!

That is bang out of order and I'd be taking that to a manager/boss. Just because she's decided to throw her toys out the pram because your being paid more does not give her the right to do that. I hope your company sees it as a diciplinary offence because if it were me I'd certainly want something done about it! Hope you get it sorted!

At the very least it's deeply unprofessional to do this. It was confidential information used for personal reasons on the part of the hr person.

I would take a very dim view if one of my team did this. We all know that we're likely to handle offers for much more than we're on. You just have to park it and get on with the job. We don't discuss employment offers or contracts with anyone outside the immediate team or the directors.

I'm pretty sure this was actually covered as an example in our Gdpr training. We are über cautious though as we handle a lot of sensitive info due to the general nature of the business.

I definitely agree that it was very poor behaviour by the HR colleague but it's often down to appropriate data privacy training in SMEs being abysmal which leaves admin staff very exposed if they don't have any awareness of what they can and can't say, and to whom. It is something to highlight to management, to tighten up awareness and process gaps, so it doesn't expose the company to significant data breaches through ignorance. In isolation, albeit frustrating, i wouldn't class it as gross misconduct, unless it's a repeated offence with warnings and training already given.

I'm a HR person and this is high treason to the profession! One of the most fundamental rules of HR is that you don't disclose this kind of information to anyone who isn't entitled to know. Off with her head!