Nasty situation

[whatagrayday]

A friend of mine has recently left a post in a social work type, but not,, sector. They left on not particularly great terms but nothing over serious. They have a new job and all is good - good reference etc.

After leaving, they met up once with an ex client for a coffee and a chat and that was it. Nothing was said by either that was in any way detrimental to the last job and they said their goodbyes

My friend called me quite upset yesterday saying they'd had a nasty email threatening them with 'action' if they didn't 'stop meeting ex clients'. That 'appropriate authorities' would be informed.
There was nothing, (I checked) in my friend's contract about not being in touch with people and both of them are NT adults with full capabilities.

I'm just unsure as what the ex employer can actually do if anything? I totally get the professional boundaries issue but can this be construed as overstepping them if the worker had left?
My friend feels extremely worried about this

I’d be worried about how they had the ex-client’s personal details after leaving the position. Data protection etc

That's a good point. I guess thy would have known the clients phone number anyway and kept it - or arranged the meeting before leaving. I'm not clear on the details

I think the main issue would be if/how they contacted this old client.
If they had their number due to work but used it once they had left that could be seen as a problem

I'll see if I can find out. That is a really good point.

Who would be the appropriate authorities, is your friend accredited with anyone? Perhaps they could make enquiries with them anonymously if concerned to find out what line, if any, has been crossed. Might put their mind at rest if none, or ensure they don't do it again if it was inappropriate for any reason.

Contacting ex clients seems very unprofessional and a potential gdpr issue if they have retained contact details.

Friend isn't a probation officer is she?! That would not be good.

It’s where using personal mobile phones/laptops for work gets complicated as you have to delete everything when you change employer.

I'd be worried how they found out about the meeting in the first place.

Not probation no!
Apparently they are now 'friends' on social media and arranged it from there. The client has my friends work phone number but obviously they don't have their work phone anymore so don't actually have any numbers. It could be that another member of staff saw them in the coffee place and reported back? The 'authorities' thing is what's baffling. What authorities?!

There is no intention of meeting again, I'm told, so it just seems really unpleasant

Sorry but "friending" former clients is very risky. Did a former colleague see anything on sm?

I'm not sure what the nature of the work is but being social media friends with clients/ patients/ similar in a social care or clinical role is usually pretty strongly discouraged in my experience. Has your friend been told otherwise?

I don't know a huge amount about the organisation but it seems that having ex clients and vice versa as 'friends' is quite common there.

I think I'll suggest they remove them and see if any more comes from the ex employe

Is she registered with a professional body such as NMC, GMC, HCPC, etc, anything they could be struck off from and barred from working as again? That's probably what they mean.

No, nothing like that. It seems rather like some unnecessary intimidation but we can't really work out why. I just feel sorry for her. Not nice.

The only way I can see that meeting with what were clients after you've left a workplace is an issue, is if they think you would somehow poach business or discuss confidential info. Whether that be angling for a job for yourself, getting business off the company or discussing 'trade secrets'.

If she has done nothing that could harm the company then I'd delete the email and block the sender.

In any "social work type" setting, boundaries are important. So it isn't entirely surprising that the former employer isn't happy that professional boundaries haven't been maintained. They should be consistent in the application of such rules, but, to be fair, we have no clear idea what has happened here. Just because the client and the ex-employee agreed to meet doesn't mean that the client hasn't said something concerning after the meeting, or that there aren't genuine reasons for concern. That doesn't mean your friend has done anything "wrong", but it was perhaps unwise in this setting to have a meeting with a former client. Since she has no intention of having any further meetings then I can't see much to be upset about. The ex-employer has made their position clear and if she won't be having any further meetings there isn't anything to worry about.

I dunno, social workers deal with vulnerable people so a social worker-esque job makes me think your friend also worked with vulnerable people, so probably not an avenue to meet people to socialise with outside of work.

This is wildly inappropriate of your friend. The employer has a duty of care to safeguard people who use their services. It’s not about being NT and having full capacity! Your friend should know this! Really shocked at their poor judgement tbh