Health Forms at work

[forgivemeimnew]

My work have handed out health forms to all the employees basically asking what health issues we have and also asking for a full list of prescription medication that we take. They haven’t indicated what this is for apart from keeping our files up to date, nor have they said who will be able to have access to this. Does anyone know if I have to fill this in? I feel that it’s a little personal and intrusive. My job is admin so it’s not like I’m operating machinery/driving and that can be affected, although surely that’s for me to discuss with my gp?

They're not entitled to your medical history. Just say it's confidential and they're not entitled to the info under GDPR.

Thank you for your response, unfortunately I think they can ask and I have to decide if I’m happy for them to have it or if I want a fight with them

I would ask them why they want this info, how it will be stored and who will have access to it. Did you have to submit this info when you first joined them, if not then it's not an update. What line of work are you in.

No, I don’t remember ever having to submit this info before. I have worked there over 20 years and I am just part time admin and office based.

I think the medication part may be important. If you took I’ll they’s be able to tell ambulance staff that you are on
X medication etc.

Well yes I suppose they could Likethebattle, but it's OP's choice whether she wants to tell her employer about her contraception, anti-depressants, haemorrhoid medication or whatever so that in the unlikely event it's relevant to work they already know, or she can choose to keep it confidential. If the main concern is medical professionals knowing key information quickly then I'd strongly advise getting a medical bracelet and/or info card rather than relying on the HR file which may not be immediately accessible in the event of a sudden collapse or accident.

OP they are entitled to ask about health matters relevant to work, and it's totally up to you what/if you tell them - it's then your lookout if you choose not to tell them about your life-threatening allergy or whatever and they fail to make adjustments for it, unless it's the sort of thing which would risk the health and safety of others such as epilepsy when operating machinery! To me asking for a complete medical history and list of prescription medications is going quite far assuming you don't work in a particularly hazardous environment and they could well be in breach of GDPR by holding this information on everyone if it isn't necessary. A more normal approach is to use forms which ask if there are any health matters or conditions you have that are relevant to work you wish to disclose, or possibly if there are particular conditions they know are relevant (e.g. eyesight related conditions for pilots, MSK conditions for manual workers) ask whether you have that condition or not.

But if you don't want to rock the boat I'd quietly 'forget' to return the form or return it with 'n/a' or 'prefer not to say' written against any questions you don't want to answer...

I definitely would not give all this information to them, before seeking advice, also medication / dosages can change often would you then have to keep updating them ?
Do you think they want to start random drug testing?

Are you in a Union or can you get advice from HR ?

Thank you so much for your replies.

To answer some of your questions:

We don’t have HR (Just a nosey, opinionated office manager) and I am not in a union.

I have a long term chronic illness which they are aware of.

I take a few medications, none of which are life threatening and would need to be alerted to the ambulance crew.

I have never, nor think I would, require emergency treatment because of my illness.

I had planned to just ignore the form in the hope that they wouldn’t chase, however, I have been told by another colleague that they have sent an internal email asking for missing ones to be returned ASAP.
I have been off work for the half term so will potentially have an email on my return on Monday.

It basically says if we answer yes to any of the illnesses we could be asked to see a doctor and if they deem you to be unfit for work then your employment could be terminated. Also the same fate if we fail to disclose information.

The form isn’t friendly at all, I could understand a ‘do you have any conditions that we should be aware of and can help you with’ - it’s more an ‘answer yes or no to each of these and list your prescription medication, if you don’t we reserve the right to sack you’

As a friend who has just had a little prescription help with her fertility mentioned to me, imagine if her workplace knew this and were looking to make redundancies, surely they’d get rid of the woman that was potentially looking to take maternity leave soon.

It just makes me feel really uncomfortable and a little vulnerable, other colleagues I have spoken to about it were a little wide eyed and bewildered, however, have filled it in to keep the peace as they have nothing to declare.

God so what do they do if someone is sick is policy/ procedure ? They cant discriminate. Is this a private company ?

Ring Acas??

Yes, it’s a private company.

I rang acas, they just said it wasn’t covered by law.

So not covered by law meaning you don't have to do it without fear, , or not covered under GDPR ?
What type of company is this ?

I would take the view that whatever information you give them cannot be proactively verified with your GP without your prior knowledge and consent. So put something very benign on the form like xxx medication for occasional athletes foot and leave it at that.

Think in terms of protecting your privacy to the greatest extent and whether or not you plan to stay employed there over the long term. If you don't, then withhold the maximum. No need to rock any boats just manage their access to your data by not disclosing it in the first place.

They are not medical experts, they wouldn't be able to act on any of the information, so they have absolutely no need to know or keep that data on you.

As ACAS have stated, it is not covered in law.

Just fill it in with the basic details of what they already know. They won’t be able to access your medical records without written consent from you and you also have the right to view that record before they do.

I agree with @daisychain01