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Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#61

Post by toyg »

throwaway_au_1 wrote: post #60

I am also a software developer in Australia (NSW). I was 'headhunted' (in the loose sense) for a role and they booked me in for a "pre-employment medical check". I assumed it would be something like: medical professional is briefed on my typical duties; medical professional assesses my abilities to perform these duties; medical professional then makes a recommendation to the employer. However on arriving and being pr…

The annoying part is that these bad practices tend to spread. They start in the worst jurisdiction, and then slowly spread to the adjacent ones - e.g. first in Australia or US, then to all anglo-speaking countries, then via UK to Western Europe... Unless they get hit by some brave soul with the stomach for a lengthy and expensive judicial process, they just become standard by way of bureaucracy, one overreaching form at a time.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#62

Post by neximo64 »

eesmith wrote: post #56
neximo64 wrote: post #41

Did you sign access to it as part of your employment contract? Sorry to say but theres a chance it's all legal as you may have consented to it.

And there's a chance that such contract terms, even if present, are not enforceable in Australia.

There is legal precedent as grounds for dismissal for failing to attend a doctors appointment for the purposes of a medical evaluation for an employer or also failing to disclose medical records to an employer in Australia if it was part of your employment contract.

Definitely enforceable without a doubt - and many industries have it as part of a standard employment contract, e.g Aircraft pilot.

Also as part of fairwork legislation to prevent being fired as a result of extended sick leave it actually requires disclosure of the condition.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#63

Post by me_me_me »

throwaway_au_1 wrote: post #60

I am also a software developer in Australia (NSW). I was 'headhunted' (in the loose sense) for a role and they booked me in for a "pre-employment medical check". I assumed it would be something like: medical professional is briefed on my typical duties; medical professional assesses my abilities to perform these duties; medical professional then makes a recommendation to the employer. However on arriving and being pr…

"All of our workers here at ACME corp were happy about annual anal probing to ensure they are all fit to work here, you should feel privileged to be able refuse ACME anal probing."

Thats some grim future we are heading with this. And that software dev field, one of most competitive fields for finding personnel. As soft dev you are in position of power and yet people put up with this stupid shit.

Good on you for telling them to fuck off.

It sounds like its quite common in Australia, but why?

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#64

Post by eesmith »

neximo64 wrote: post #62
eesmith wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And there's a chance that such contract terms, even if present, are not enforceable in Australia.

There is legal precedent as grounds for dismissal for failing to attend a doctors appointment for the purposes of a medical evaluation for an employer or also failing to disclose medical records to an employer in Australia if it was part of your employment contract. Definitely enforceable without a doubt - and many industries have it as part of a standard employment contract, e.g Aircraft pilot. Also as part of fairw…

There's a mismatch between the summary, which says the employer request all records, and the actual letter, which is only for work-related records.

I failed to read the actual letter before posting. My apologies.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#65

Post by d1sxeyes »

burnoutgal wrote: post #40
bbarn wrote: post #31

As others have said - it's invasive, and probably illegal. BUT - I feel like we're missing some context here. Is your reason for refusal based solely on privacy concerns, or that you don't want them to know you see a psychiatrist? Have you been underperforming and used your ADHD as justification/excuse as to why and they want some proof of that? You're mentioning the ADHD, so it must be relevant in some way, otherwis…

There's no "but", it's invasive and illegal. The boss is using OP's ADHD as an excuse to demand all this private information, to "prove" they need accomodation.

Better not to talk in absolutes. The broad scope of this is so unusual that I can't imagine any 'large organisation' with an HR department requesting it without being sure of their grounds in advance. Obviously, they may be wrong, but I doubt this has come from nowhere.

Without any context, it does seem as though this would be illegal in my jurisdiction. However, OP mentions that the request is authorisation for HR, to request medical information, which suggests someone has already reviewed this from HR and it's possible they're more familiar with the law than you or I are in terms of what they can and can't ask for. Especially the 'twelve (12)' stinks as though it's been drafted by a lawyer.

That said, normally a 'fitness to work' proceeding in my jurisdiction would not be entitled to future medical records, and the medical records would be reviewed by first your local GP, and then eventually potentially a government occupational health authority, and would never be passed to the employer.

If this were me, I would most certainly refuse. I would instead offer to provide a statement from my doctor that I am fit to work. I can't see any way that this arrangement could possibly benefit OP.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#66

Post by d1sxeyes »

progman32 wrote: post #37

Astounding. I can't think of a situation where this kind of intrusion is ethically acceptable. It were me, I'd question (with a lawyer) what their intent is. Why would a reputable employer stick their neck out like this? Sounds desperate, but maybe I've been reading too much fiction lately. Document everything, try to keep the situation at work coasting along while you speak to a competent lawyer. I'm not Australian…

If his card is disabled to get into the building, I don't think they would be able to build a case that he 'stopped showing up'.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#67

Post by justsomehnguy »

d1sxeyes wrote: post #66
progman32 wrote: post #37

Astounding. I can't think of a situation where this kind of intrusion is ethically acceptable. It were me, I'd question (with a lawyer) what their intent is. Why would a reputable employer stick their neck out like this? Sounds desperate, but maybe I've been reading too much fiction lately. Document everything, try to keep the situation at work coasting along while you speak to a competent lawyer. I'm not Australian…

If his card is disabled to get into the building, I don't think they would be able to build a case that he 'stopped showing up'.

In the year 2022?

Don't be ridiculous.

Grab another phone/tablet/notebook, get to the door, record a video "Hi, this Nth of Month, I'm at work and cant enter (angry beeps from the door controller) and today is really Nth of Month, see (opening a site which shows a date and time, like a newspaper or stocks)"

EZ PZ

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#68

Post by born2discover »

soco wrote: post #54

Happened in Switzerland too: the offshore manager (India) insisted she hands over the medical records of her therapy status, she complied, then she was put on PIP with the outspoken prospect to be fired. Then fired, and the trial is ongoing. Moral: DO NOT ACCEPT THAT. NO.

If one can prove that her termination is directly linked to her medical condition/status, then the trial should return a favourable verdict for the plaintive as Siwss labour laws are strict on this kind of shenanigans.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give my employer all my medical records?

#69

Post by d1sxeyes »

justsomehnguy wrote: post #67
d1sxeyes wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If his card is disabled to get into the building, I don't think they would be able to build a case that he 'stopped showing up'.

In the year 2022? Don't be ridiculous. Grab another phone/tablet/notebook, get to the door, record a video "Hi, this Nth of Month, I'm at work and cant enter (angry beeps from the door controller) and today is really Nth of Month, see (opening a site which shows a date and time, like a newspaper or stocks)" EZ PZ

Not sure you read my comment correctly - I mean that the employer will not be able to build a case that he did not show up to work in case his card is disabled.
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