Employers Coercing Workers into Signing their Rights to Privacy Away

by Paul McCarthy Wed Apr 30, 2008 01:44

... so take this with a pinch of salt, but as far as I know it's got to be illegal to inquire into your sex life and religious preferences. Is your company involved in anything highly sensitive? If not, your political affiliation should be irrelevant too (in my opinion it should be irrelevant anyway).

I think if challenged your company would admit that the can't force you to give any information, but that "your cooperation would be appreciated", in other words, tell us what we want to know or you'll never get that promotion or whatever. Here in London, a friend of mine told me about random drug tests being carried out by the big American finance companies in the City on Monday mornings. Even though it's not legally enforcable (I think... again, I'm not a lawyer), the workers have signed a contract saying they have no objection and a refusal to give a sample goes on your record.

I'd go to Citizens Advice with this. Unlike me they'll give you a qualified opinion! They really helped out loads of people I know with employment issues. If you do, post up what they tell you. Would be good to know.

Good luck!

by paul o toole Wed Apr 30, 2008 09:59

I believe in the Dail that laws pertaining to data retention have been introduced last March. All companies and servers involved in communication are requested to hold all calls, emails, attachments, senders and recipients information etc for a period of 18 months. I only follow this stuff loosley but I think it passed without objection.
McDoughall irradicated the right to silence 'in certatn cases' yet to be specified -which in effect removes the right to the presumption of innocence if you choose to remain silent in court. This also went through without objection from the 'opposition'-makes you wonder, or shudder more like it.
Your personal information is no business of anyones. You should write a letter and register it, revolking any right you may have unwittingly given up in the signing of this 'contract'. CC it to all departments and a lawyer if you got one. See if there is any support on the ground for to strenghten your case.
Scary times lay ahead if this is going on regularly..goog luck

by reader Wed Apr 30, 2008 13:18

Can you show the relevant excerpts of the contract? or type them out? Did you get the job directly or through an agency?

by Weary Wed Apr 30, 2008 16:07

"details of my sex life - how on Earth are they going to obtain this?"

Information about whether you are single or married with children is a reasonable request from any employer

"details of my political views;"

If you are working for a commercial company and you are a raving marxist-leninist or working with ethnic minorities and you happen to be hostile to blacks this would be an issue.

"my medical history;"

If I was hiring a secretary and that person had a history of mental illness or chronic illness I would like to know about it.

"information on Trade Union membership;"

If a company does not recognise trade unions it usually prefers not to employ people who are trade unionists in the first place. If it does it would like to know who are members and who are not in the event of industrial disputes.

"information on my religious and philosophical beliefs, amongst other inappropriate requests."

If you are a Hindu or a Muslim or a Catholic you might be unavailable for work and they would need to know when so they could cover for you. They might also need to be culturally sensitive to minorities in the workforce.

by Diogenes Wed Apr 30, 2008 16:43

What then do you make of the distribution of personal data to ' interested 3rd parties '? I can't for the life of me think who these might be. Perhaps some of those organisations which like to publish meaningless statistics. I still think this sort of info should be proferred on a voluntary basis, not a contractually binding one, unless as someone pointed out, you work in a 'sensitive' area.
As for drugs testing, the link below is the best I could come up with.

by Nobody's business Wed Apr 30, 2008 21:44

Many thanks to everyone who has offered advice.

Paul:
The Company is involved in highly sensitive work and if they have nothing to hide then they should have nothing to worry about and my sound political opinions should be of no concern to them. No company has the right to know my political views - I go to work solely to work. I am a very honest person and have always been a trustworthy employee that should be good enough for this company as it has been for my previous employers, who never had a problem with me or my work.

Reader:
I’m not providing an excerpt from my employment contract, as it could be recognised by anyone working in the firm, as I know they all obtained a similar contract with slight variations, but I have given a summary here and highlighted the most contentious points in it.

"Weary" (what an appropriate name you have!)
I don’t know why you don’t understand what I’m complaining about. I presume you would have no problem yourself with sensitive personal data being collected about you and being released to ‘interested third parties’ without your consent. It states in my employment contract quite ludicrously that, if I do not consent to giving them the information voluntarily they have the right to seek it from third parties without my consent or knowledge and that by signing it, I‘m giving them consent to do so should it be necessary, even though I do not consent (this is akin to the “Confusion Technique/Alice in Wonderland Technique” used by hard sellers, the intelligence services, and familiar also to those who are scientologists - a psychologic trick that confuses the mind and weakens resistance in those fooled by it).

All workers should object to sensitive personal data being sought without their consent and the dissemination of this private data to third parties without their permission! I thought that Orwell's, '1984' book was a work of fiction - I seem to be living it recently with cctv cameras inside my place of work and the firm attempting to gain access to every aspect of my private life and every thought or independent view that I may hold - it also stated in the contract that I was not entitled to express views publicly that were contrary to those of the firm's! I guess, I won't be staying there too long, anyway, I'm far too independent and opinionated for this firm.

by Diogenes Thu May 01, 2008 00:56

I was under the impression that your new employers were looking to distribute your personal info TO 3rd parties. From your last post however, it would seem your employer is looking for info on you FROM 3rd parties. Big difference. If you work in certain industries, then background checks are part and parcel. You have obviously been offerred a contract already so your new employers are quite happy to take you on. However, I just wonder, in your circumstances what exact info they're looking for and why if, as I said, they are going to employ you already.

by bah Thu May 01, 2008 19:04

I'm so tired of how workers are expected to tout all their personal info to strangers who mishandle them. All for a job where most of te info is unnecessary. Either you are qualified and experienced at doing the job or not.
Look what happened with monster.com. and all the cv's

These days you should get a cv from the industry telling you all the nasty shit they have their fingers in globally before YOU decide to work for THEM.

We sell ourselves to these bastards far too cheaply and meekly

by Nobody's business Thu May 01, 2008 20:27

It's not just background checks - I'm not that naive or stupid! I am well aware companies do background checks. I don't think they are fair on people and I do not like the fact that they are conducted, as I don't believe that it's anybody's business what my background is, and I believe such checks are unfair to individuals who have come out of prison or who were once incarcerated in a mental institution in the distant past and who have been fully rehabilitated, but are discriminated against forever because of one incident lost in the cobwebs of the past and long forgotten by everyone else. I'm not concerned so much about security checks, as I have no criminal history, but it is another area of my life that I'm worried about - we all have 'skeletons in the closet' (not to be taken literally!).

I outlined above what information they want to share with other parties, which basically is everyting that I would consider strictly private & confidential. The employment contract I signed stated that sensitive personal data on me could be released at anytime to 'interested third parties' with or without my permission (I get the impression that it is companies that the firm owns worldwide, but it could be anyone for all I know, as it doesn't specify who will obtain the information on me or what they'll do with it) and because I signed the fucking contract, they can produce evidence of my signature showing 'my consent' to anyone and the sensitive information can then be released without me knowing about it. I have given you the web site for Data Protection Agency and you can look up what 'sensitiive personal data' means if you don't know and ask yourself the question: would you be happy for this information to be disseminated to other companies be it for market research, insurance purposes or for whatever purpose? I am certainly not happy, I believe it to be excessive given the role I have in the company.

The reason I have written about this is, I object to the blatant intrusiveness into the worker's private world outside the firm and the excessiveness of it, I believe it to be extremely unfair, and I wondered if any other workers out there ever came across such a clause in their contract.