Law queries

Do employers still have the right to contact sick employees at their home or does the Human Rights Act 1998 now make this illegal?

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enforced in the UK through the Human Rights Act 1998 does guarantee a right to privacy. The rights apply directly to employees in the public sector and services whose employers have a legal obligation to abide by the terms of the Act.

However, it is unlikely that Article 8 denies employers the right to contact sick employees at home. If contact is not too frequent or unduly intrusive and specifically if there is a provision in the employment contract which provides for a right to contact employees then it is unlikely to amount to a breach of Article 8.

A recent case concerned an employer's rights to test for drugs and alcohol. The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that these tests did not automatically offend against Article 8 where the employer had a good business reason for testing and where the employment contract said that testing would be carried out.

* More information: Labour Research, October 2002; O'Flynn v Airlinks EAT/0269/01