De zieke werknemer en privacy - College bescherming ...

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De zieke werknemerBijlagenBijlage 1The employee on sick leave and privacy, a summaryIntroductionA large amount of personal data is processed with regard to employees who are ill. Thetightening up of the reintegration obligation and the extended obligation to continue paymentof wages have in themselves led to an increase in the need for information on the partof employers. Deregulation has meant, furthermore, that various tasks have shifted from thepublic to the private domain and more parties than ever before are now involved in coaching,reintegration or the continued payment of wages. This involvement has resulted in anincrease in the need for personal data on employees who are on sick leave, as well as anincreased need to exchange data.Because of the vast flow of information – often detailed information on the health ofemployees, sometimes without their knowledge – employees are not always fully aware ofwhat is happening to their personal information. The enormous amounts of information andthe frequently changing legislation make it difficult for the employers, the arbodienst[occupational health & safety executive], company doctors, the work reintegration agencies,the UWV [a body implementing employee insurance schemes] and insurance companiesdealing with employee sick leave – to keep themselves properly informed about the rules andregulations they should be applying.This study is an attempt by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) to clarifymatters for all concerned. Practical rules of thumb based on current legislation andregulations have been formulated for the application of privacy regulations during theexchange of information with regard to employees on sick leave. The most importantissues in this respect can be summarised under the following headings.TransparencyDecisions which may have serious implications for employees on sick leave, are made basedon the information that the various parties exchange. This can include decisions concerningthe continued payment of wages, proposed reintegration activities or the assessment of anapplication for disability benefit. It is therefore essential that information of this kind beexchanged in a transparent manner. Personal data should be treated in a proper and carefulmanner.An employee who is ill should be made aware of the information about him that is beingprocessed, so that he can ensure that the information is handled in accordance with the law,and that the information in itself is correct. An employee will become suspicious if he noticesthat information has been provided behind his back and he is unexpectedly confronted withthe consequences.The Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens (Wbp) [Dutch Data Protection Act] clearly states thatthe data controller has a duty to provide information. An employee who is ill does not onlyhave the right to be informed about the type of data that is processed about him, but is alsoentitled to be informed of the purpose for which this information was processed and theidentity of the data controller. In its capacity as supervisor, the Dutch DPA is calling on allparties involved to give serious attention to this duty of disclosure.It is particularly important to keep an employee properly informed about the exchange ofinformation between the employer and the arbodienst and/or the company doctor. Althoughthe employer is responsible for verification, and for the reintegration of the employee who hasbeen ill, the employer is obliged to seek the assistance of the arbodienst and/or the companydoctor. Employees often have no knowledge of the way in which the tasks relating to127
verification and reintegration are divided between the employer and the arbodienst and/orthe company doctor. Both parties should provide the employee on sick leave with moreinformation on this subject than currently is often the case.The necessity principleAll parties playing a part in the inspection, reintegration or continued payment ofemployees on sick leave need information in order to be able to perform their tasksproperly. Some parties like to be provided with as much information as possible to ensurethat they can carry out their tasks to the best of their ability. However, the Wbp requiresapplication of the necessity principle.The necessity principle means that only the information that is strictly necessary for thepurpose of specific data processing should be requested or provided. The parties receiveonly the information they need to perform their tasks, and the privacy of the employeewho is ill is invaded as little as possible. In this way only information that is strictlynecessary is processed. By collecting information that may possibly prove useful some dayone does not comply with these requirements. This means that the data controller mustcarefully consider what information is necessary in each individual case. Many parties arecalling for clear rules to specify which information can be collected and provided in whichsituation. Clear rules would prevent the various data controllers from coming to differingconclusions in similar situations. Uniform processing practices will serve to ensure properand careful processing.Employees who are ill often supply their employers voluntarily with information abouttheir illness. This can be part of the normal day-to-day practice within an organisation.If medical information has been provided voluntarily by an employee, his employer is not(automatically) entitled to record and process said information. In this case, as well, theemployer has to comply with the necessity principle. In practice however, it is oftendifficult to know how to implement this principle, particularly in the area of reintegration.The Dutch DPA is therefore urging for clear regulations covering the exchange of datarelating to reintegration between an employer, the arbodienst and/or company doctor,the reintegration services, the UWV and the insurance companies.Medical confidentialityExtra protection applies to information concerning health matters. This is laid down inboth the Wbp [Dutch Data Protection Act] and in specific legislation (including legislationon professional medical confidentiality). The very nature of this information means thatprocessing will lead to an even greater invasion of the privacy of the data subject thanwould be the case if the ‘usual’ information were processed. Health issues are often verypersonal and should therefore be treated with a greater degree of confidentiality. The firstconcern is that the data subject receives the correct medical treatment. It is also often thecase that a person’s health determines the way he is judged by society. This is why peoplewant to decide for themselves whether they wish to divulge certain information and towhom.The company doctor plays an important part in the exchange of information on a regardingan employee who is ill. He is often the only person (apart from the doctors treating thedata subject) to have all the relevant (medical) information regarding an employee who isill. In this respect, his duty of professional confidentiality as a physician has an importantfunction. It is the company doctor’s job to act as a filter and to transform the medical datainto the information that is needed by, and relevant to, the other parties involved. His roleis to 'de-medicalise' the information.For example, in order to comply with his reintegration obligations, in principle, anemployer does not need medical information from the company doctor on the nature andcause of the illness of the employee. However, he does need to know about the functional128
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