Medical information

Q: Our employer has just told the union that all employees will be asked to visit their occupational health doctor as a matter of routine after all sickness absences. Can they do this?

A: Information about a worker's health comes under the category of "sensitive data" for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, and the worker must give their consent to it being obtained (unless there are specific circumstances such as a need to provide information for use in legal proceedings, which in this case there are not).

The Information Commissioner's Employment Practices Data Protection Code states that the consent must be explicit (i.e. the employee must know precisely for what purposes it is given) and must be given freely (so employees cannot be forced to give it).

The code also makes it clear that employers must have a good reason to justify obtaining information such as this.