Right to Confidentiality At Work

[Salmon Man]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

It was really just a rant about the whole thing. I felt that the recruitment company had been unprofessional from the outset to the very last.

[Inca]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

All I can say is that I wasn't looking for my ego to be massaged, and I apologise if it came across that way. I did feel as though it was turning into the opposite though, and felt my ego being verbally dismantled. lol

No,,I didn't mean 'your' ego,,I meant egos in general hun

[Eloise01]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

OK. I am going to stick to one simple fact. You have alleged that there was a breach of confidentiality. During a dispute in a telephone conversation you mentioned that you have bipolar disorder. You were not asked for medical data and there was no "confidential" conversation; this was a conversation in which you voluntarily gave out this information as part of a complaint in which you made a series of allegations about the company lying. I cannot see how this breaches confidentiality - nobody told you that the conversation that you initiated was confidential or that you had any right to expect it to remain so. If you did not want someone to know this information, you shouldn't have told them.

[Salmon Man]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

OK. I am going to stick to one simple fact. You have alleged that there was a breach of confidentiality. During a dispute in a telephone conversation you mentioned that you have bipolar disorder. You were not asked for medical data and there was no "confidential" conversation; this was a conversation in which you voluntarily gave out this information as part of a complaint in which you made a series of allegations about the company lying. I cannot see how this breaches confidentiality - nobody told you that the conversation that you initiated was confidential or that you had any right to expect it to remain so. If you did not want someone to know this information, you shouldn't have told them.

Yes, I didn't want my boss knowing, so I did not tell him. The guy from the recruitment agency did, without asking my permission.

I did not make a complaint to my boss. I made a complaint to the recruitment company, who took what I said to my boss instead of myself.

[Eloise01]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

You are not understanding the relationships here. You are an employee. The recruitment agency have no relationship with you - their relationship is with your employer. Regardless of your opinion about them or their courses, the relationship is betweeen your employer and a company who he has agreed can provided training courses on his premises. If you had a problem at work your responsibility was to discuss that with your employer. Instead you got into arguments with the training provider (justified or not - that isn't up to you to decide) and then started making phones calls making serious allegations against them (and again, true or not isn't your business). You should have gone to the employer and told them you had a problem, and sorted it out with the employer - with or without telling them about your bipolar. But instead you picked up a phone to someone else and during an argument with them about their services to your employer you said that you had bipolar disorder. They didn't ask you this, they had no reason to know this but you volunteered this information to someone who has no duty of confidentiality to you, and in circumstances where they did not have any requirement to keep it confidential. You may as well have told your neighbour or the bloke down the pub. This agency have taken your complaints - and a transcript of what you said - to your boss. They are entitled to do so, and it is what you should have done if you had complaints about something to do with your employment - which this was. They didn't need your permission - what you said was not disclosed in a confidential conversation.

[Salmon Man]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

Fair enough. Thanks.

[Eloise01]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

One thing I think you need to be aware of is that this all happened on Friday, and tomorrow is Monday - I assume you have not worked over the weekend? It appears that where you left this was with you "walked out". That is not necessarily where others have left it or will leave it. Like it or not, Labman was quite correct in raising the fact that your condition is not entirely irrlevant to your employment, and may have an impact on your employers insurance position. And it is possible, depending on what was said and done, that there may be consequences in your actions towards and allegations about the training provider. It may be that everyone takes the view that this is a storm in a teacup and best left alone - but they also may not. If they do not, I advise you to keep a careful rein on your temper; do not walk out - if you need to ask for a break to calm down then deal with it that way; and do not say anything that (a) you might regret or (b) is inflammatory - and possibly both. You need to fully understand that it is possible that elements of this could go further; may result in disciplinary action; or may impact on your ability to remain in employment. I am not saying it will, but it MAY. Do not do anything to make things worse. Keep your head down, keep your own counsel and if it all blows over - let it.

[labman]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

Eloise,

I ask this for my benefit. I take on board 100% what you state about the differing relationships above. The OP's is with his employer, quite clearly, NOT with the agency.

Thinking about the phone call, it was then a personal call, not a professional call I assume.

If my assumption is right, and that call was recorded and then transcribed, is the other party not breaching the DPA sharing the conversation with the employer?

I ask as I'm in a not dissimilar position where I have a recording, made by me (all my calls are recorded automatically) when talking to a formal institution - me, as a parent, talking to my daughter's school. I know I am allowed to record calls for personal use, but not share them with third parties. I now have the Director of Education wanting to hear one particular call and am currently saying I am not allowed to share it with him.

As you can see, it's not dissimilar to the above situation. I'm playing safe, as I always do if in doubt re DPA issues. Is this something you are able to comment on or not?

I guess the answer would apply to both SMan's and my issue.

[Eloise01]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

Two very different things I suspect, but I would need more detail. In the OPs case there is no evidence it was recorded - a ""transcript "" doesn't mean it was recorded and I do not know what the OP means by this. Usually, in these circumstances, it means "my notes".If it was recorded it would depend on the "warning" given - simply because something is recorded does not mean it can't be shared.

In your case, again it might matter what warning you gave of the recording; how you share that information, and POSSIBLY public interest. I don't think such details ought to be discussed on a public forum - it might be nice to post back some general points from such a discussion, but the detail I would need is not appropriate to a public forum. If Cel is ok about taking it to PM then I would be happy to discuss it off forum and you can post back what you are comfortable with.

[labman]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

Indeed, I always use 'transcript' in terms of what I ask for in a SAR - a word for word record of the conversation, not general notesd about it. I can see your point though.

With regards to me, it can go a little further here for info for other posters. I give no warning for normal conversations. Personal conversations are deleted, so anyone just chatting to me on the phone, we chat, yes it's recorded, but it's not listened to again.

Conversations with businesses I can record without warning for personal use if made in the capacity of Labman. If I make a formal call as Labman Ltd, so it is business, not personal, I have to tell people they're being recorded.

Clearly in this case I was speaking as me, to the school. Normally I could not share this with a third party unless it was deemed as admissable evidence by a court of law.

This is a little different, and that's where we may need to go to pm.

Thanks for your advice, and I'd suggest I start a new thread, unless we think the OP is not going to return on this one.

[Eloise01]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

Ok - A new thread would seem sensible (the OP may come back if, as I hope is doesn't but it may, this matter is not concluded), and you can always fill in detail by PM. But in this case I am not convinced the DPA applies at all - in fact I am relatively certain that it doesn't. It may be that other laws do apply, but frankly, most of those are difficult to apply in practical terms, especially to personal conversations. It would be helpful if you could clarify in a new thread:

This was a personal conversation between you as a private individual and the school?
I assume there are several calls here - you mention that only one is relevant to this subject?
Broadly, what was that conversation about and why was the conversation being conducted?
You gave no warning that the conversation was being recorded?
Do you have a transcript of the conversation?
Why does the the Director of Education wish to know the details of the call, and what exactly has s/he asked for?

Let's start there and see where it takes us ....

[Salmon Man]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

I wasn't advised my call was being recorded, nor do I think it was recorded. I think the girl write down what we chatted about, passed it to her Regional Manager, who them passed it to my boss.

I was also under the impression that my phone call to the recruitment company was different to my work duties, and therefore personal.

[labman]

Re: Right to Confidentiality At Work

If your call was not recorded and only notes were made, it was the notes that were discussed with your employer. There is no reason why the recruitment agency should not do this as far as I'm aware.

Your relationship, as Eloise has pointed out, is with your employer. The recruitment agency have no relationship with you, so are at liberty to chat to your employer with whom they do have a relationship.

Sorry, but I don't think you have any cause to complain.