Rank: Forum user 
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To what extent to we have to respect and employees right to confidentiality where there is a significant risk to an employee?
To illustrate, an employee has a specific medical condition and the employer has referred the employee through an occupational health process. The key recommendation from the GP is ensuring that the employee receives suitable rest breaks between shifts to enable sufficient sleep time.
HR and H&S are aware of the condition, but the employee does not wish for the direct line manager to be informed. Do we have to abide by this wish, or do our duties to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees, control significant risks, and make reasonable adjustments (amongst others) put us in a position where we need to inform the line manager to ensure that we discharge these duties.
In my mind, HR and H&S cannot manage the employee on a day to day basis to ensure that medical recommendations are satisfied, therefore the line manager must be informed to ensure that the condition is managed.
Any thoughts? Hoping I get some agreement!
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Rank: Forum user
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personally I agree, if the employee was to get harmed due to this condition, which you were aware of, and had done nothing about, then I would suggest you would be found to be negligent. Also if this lack of sleep / breaks resulted in the employee harming others due to the condition that you were aware of - same outcome. It's a tough call but I would tell the employee that you will have to tell his line manager, unless he can demonstrate that he can manage the condition in some other way.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Stephen,
most of the guidance I have seen around Data Protection from sources such the Info Com and the larger trade Unions generally follows the line of "Only allow managers access to health information where they genuinely need it to carry out their job."
In your scenario you say that the only recommendation relates to adequate time between shifts and therefore refers to time away from work. You should ask yourself why managers would need to know that and exactly what would they be expected to do with the information if they did.
The WTD outlines working hours controls that cover the issues surrounding adequate rest periods so unless this person has work demands that put thm beyond those genral controls I would doubt that the information needs to be shared.
Hope this helps, it is a very complex area of control that your HR people should be leading on IMO.
Pete
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Rank: Forum user 
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Stephen,
The employee has an absolute right to privacy; tempered with the need to safeguard himself and others. Therefore where the employee has retained the right to privacy the managers must be only provided with the information absolutely necessary to safeguard that person and others. In this case, that information is that the person must have adequate breaks between work periods.
Regards
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Rank: Super forum user
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Stephen,
I'm with akwatson on this.
The Line Manager needs to know "what" is needed, what action he must take etc. He doesn't need to know on what basis that action is required i.e. I do not believe that the line manager needs to know the "why" i.e. the detials of the underlying medical condition.
Phil
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks for the replies everyone.
I put across that whilst the employee has the right to confidentiality, we also need to ensure we put in suitable steps to ensure their safety. Therefore went down the route of making the direct manager aware that the individual concerned was expected to be in the office no later and earlier than specific times, without going into the exact detail.
Thanks for the advice, a good result all round!
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