The Information Commissioner’s Office has published guidance to give employers more certainty about sharing their workers’ personal details in a mental health emergency.
The data protection guidance provides advice on when it is appropriate to share workers’ information when the employer believes that someone is at risk due to their mental health.
Chris Hogan, ICO head of regulatory strategy, said: “We want to reassure employers that during a mental health emergency, they should share necessary and proportionate information without delay with relevant and appropriate emergency services or health professionals.”
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The ICO guidance explains that mental health emergencies or crises can be harder to recognise than physical health emergencies. Symptoms can vary from person to person and it can be difficult to gauge when a situation becomes an emergency.
It defines a mental health emergency as when you believe that someone is at risk of serious harm to themselves, or others, because of their mental health, including the potential loss of life.
Data protection law does not distinguish between physical or mental health information. The same data processing obligations apply to workers’ mental health as their physical health.
The guidance states that during a mental health emergency, employers should share “necessary and proportionate information” without delay with relevant and appropriate emergency services or health professionals.
However, when sharing information with a worker’s next of kin or emergency contact, employers should exercise their judgment in each specific situation, sharing only what is necessary and proportionate to the circumstances.
The guidance states: “In many situations, people listed in your employee records as next of kin or emergency contacts are essential in providing support to a person at risk of harming themselves or others.
“However, you will not necessarily always know the exact nature of the relationship with the next of kin or emergency contact. Depending on the nature of the mental health emergency, and the relationship with that next of kin or emergency contact, it might be inappropriate to share all the information you have with them.”
The guidance provides details and examples around what employers “must, should or could” do in a range of circumstances and the lawful basis for sharing mental health information. It examines employers’ transparency obligations, and data protection impact assessments as part of the everyday handling of workers’ health information.
Hogan added: “It is a good idea to plan ahead, as this will help you to make well-informed decisions if you need to. Our guidance will help you do that and includes useful case studies to illustrate how the law can work in practice.”
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