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Employer sharing data re Trade Union membership?


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I recently looked up my employer on the ICO site as to what data that are registered as being able to use and share.

Website here:

https://ico.org.uk/esdwebpages/search

 

There are a number of things that I have noticed that I am wary of in bold, below:

 

Nature of work - General business

Description of processing

The following is a broad description of the way this organisation/data controller processes personal information. To understand how your own personal information is processed you may need to refer to any personal communications you have received, check any privacy notices the organisation has provided or contact the organisation to ask about your personal circumstances.

Reasons/purposes for processing information

We process personal information to enable us to promote our goods and services, to maintain our accounts and records and to support and manage our staff.

Type/classes of information processed

We process information relevant to the above reasons/purposes. This may include:

personal details

family, lifestyle and social circumstances

financial details

employment and education details

goods or services provided

We also process sensitive classes of information that may include:

physical or mental health details

racial or ethnic origin

religious or other beliefs of a similar nature

trade union membership

 

Who the information is processed about

We process personal information about our:

employees

customers and clients

suppliers and services providers

advisers, consultants and other professional experts

complainants and enquirers

Who the information may be shared with

We sometimes need to share the personal information we process with the individual themself and also with other organisations. Where this is necessary we are required to comply with all aspects of the Data Protection Act (DPA). What follows is a description of the types of organisations we may need to share some of the personal information we process with for one or more reasons.

Where necessary or required we share information with:

family, associates and representatives of the person whose personal data we are processing

employment and recruitment agencies

current, past and prospective employers

educators and examining bodies

central government

credit reference agencies

suppliers and service providers

debt collection and tracing agencies

financial organisations

Transfers

It may sometimes be necessary to transfer personal information overseas. When this is needed information is only shared within the European Economic Area (EEA). Any transfers made will be in full compliance with all aspects of the data protection act.

Statement of exempt processing:

This data controller also processes personal data which is exempt from notification

 

Am I being paranoid here or does that say that they can / do share information about who are trade union members to prospective employers? I'm not saying it's blacklisting but........

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If there are employees who pay their subs via pay deduction rather than direct debit then the organisation knows who those members are. It has a legitimate reason for holding and processing that data, which is what the record is all about.

 

If paranoid, switch to DD.

Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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I am on direct debit, as most are. However, my employer is trying to bring in a new protocol where members need to contact their supervisor in order to speak to their rep. This might appear, on the face of it, to be reasonable but any members who wish to keep their membership private will obviously have to give this up if they want to see their union rep. Then there’s the question of what if the problem is with the supervisor?

My question is does this say that they can share information on who I are union members to prospective employers?

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They cannot deny, approve or have ANYTHING to do with a member speaking to the representative.

 

I work in the few jobs Tha the unions still have a real bite and I can be ordered to do something but I would laugh in their face if they started to approve /disapprove/censor / monitor my union membership

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I am on direct debit, as most are. However, my employer is trying to bring in a new protocol where members need to contact their supervisor in order to speak to their rep. This might appear, on the face of it, to be reasonable but any members who wish to keep their membership private will obviously have to give this up if they want to see their union rep. Then there’s the question of what if the problem is with the supervisor?

My question is does this say that they can share information on who I are union members to prospective employers?

 

 

"Where necessary or required we share information with:"

If yiou cannot imagine a circumsatnce where it is neccessary or required, then they cannot. I can't imagine such circumstances, can you?

Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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I am on direct debit, as most are. However, my employer is trying to bring in a new protocol where members need to contact their supervisor in order to speak to their rep.

 

 

Why? Have people been messing about with superious claims for hours instead of doing actual work?

 

I am sure there will be no issue with seeing a rep on your own time....

Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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Why? Have people been messing about with superious claims for hours instead of doing actual work?

 

I am sure there will be no issue with seeing a rep on your own time....

 

No, nothing of the sort. Why the defensiveness? You strike me as a very small minded and not willing to consider the reasons why the employer has registered to use this data. I ask you again, why would they?

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The registration doesn't actually have any legal impact on the employer's ability to process personal data. It is informational only.

 

The fact that the employer has registered does not increase or decrease their ability to deal with personal data.

 

The employer still has to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 with regards to personal data, and trade union membership is still 'sensitive personal data' within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998. An employer can process personal data relating to trade union membership where necessary to do so (but not for more nefarious purposes).

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No, nothing of the sort. Why the defensiveness? You strike me as a very small minded and not willing to consider the reasons why the employer has registered to use this data. I ask you again, why would they?

 

Because of GDPR.

Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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The registration doesn't actually have any legal impact on the employer's ability to process personal data. It is informational only.

 

The fact that the employer has registered does not increase or decrease their ability to deal with personal data.

 

The employer still has to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 with regards to personal data, and trade union membership is still 'sensitive personal data' within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998. An employer can process personal data relating to trade union membership where necessary to do so (but not for more nefarious purposes).

 

Excellent and helpful reply. Thank you for that, that is very interesting.

 

An employer can process personal data relating to trade union membership where necessary to do so (but not for more nefarious purposes).

 

Please can I ask where / why this could be necessary? I am being genuine, I do not understand what could be necessary reasons, you see.

 

Why? Have people been messing about with superious claims for hours instead of doing actual work?

Absolutely not.

What you might fail to realise is if this came to pass it would:

1. Mean that union members who would prefer their membership be kept private would then have to come forward and lose their privacy.

2. The supervisors could then circumvent the union rep

3. As soon as the employer / supervisor becomes involved with the relationship between member and rep, the trust will be gone.

4. If the matter is about the supervisor then the member might not come forward

5. The current system where the member sees the rep in their time works just fine.

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I'm not thick.

 

I'm trying to work out the employer motivation from a low paranoia viewpoint to counter your own, as you requsted in your OP "Am I being paranoid here"

Edited by dx100uk
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Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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Please can I ask where / why this could be necessary? I am being genuine, I do not understand what could be necessary reasons, you see.

 

Members paying their union dues by deduction by their salary would be one reason.

 

Some employees being on union-negotiated terms would be another one.

 

Knowing whether or not the trade union has enough members to qualify for statutory recognition is another reason.

 

I'm sure there are other possible reasons too.

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You don't go via your supervisor to see a union rep.

You simply call them and whatever you speak about will be confidential, unless the rep is bent and warns your employer of your concerns.

Union membership has got nothing to do with the employer, they can't treat anyone differently for being union members along with all other characteristics.

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Thanks for all the help, everybody.

I guess this all comes back to this question: Does the text that I have posted that my employer is registered for say that they can / do share information about who are trade union members to prospective employers?

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it says they can if it is neccessary. But it's pretty much never neccessary!

 

Why not just ask them? Then you'll know for sure.

Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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None at all, no! I don't think I'd keep working for a company I trusted so little though.

 

Fundamentally people are usually too busy to be evil on purpose.

 

Sometimes they do it by mistake.

Edited by dx100uk
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Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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Thanks for your thoughts but that's not relevant on this thread.

 

Let's be honest here - you are being extraordinarily kind and, dare I say it, naive.

Edited by dx100uk
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Thanks for your thoughts but that's not relevant on this thread.

 

 

Let's be honest here - you are being extraordinarily kind and, dare I say it, naive.

 

Not really. I've worked with senior managers for a very long time in a range of companies and they'e generally been too busy to expend effort ruining someone's life. Sometimes they're incompetent and do it by mistake but that's different! The workers are generally just not worth the effort to them as long as they are turning up and doing a decent job.

 

But again thanks for the assumption that I'm something of a dullard! Happy Sunday.

Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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Thanks for all the help, everybody.

I guess this all comes back to this question: Does the text that I have posted that my employer is registered for say that they can / do share information about who are trade union members to prospective employers?

 

As I mentioned above, the text makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to the legal position.

 

The employer is required to register if they process personal data. That is a standalone registration requirement. Registration does not increase or decrease the employer's ability to deal with personal data.

 

An employer may share information about trade union members if any of the conditions for processing that type of personal data are met. Those conditions are set out here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/schedule/3

 

The conditions include cases where the processing is necessary in connection with employment.

 

Of course, whether the employer fully complies with the legal requirements is a different question.

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Disgruntled - say what you want but you clearly hold no value in trade union members’ right to anonymity. Save your pathetic jibes for where (if) they are worthy because on here it does nothing but potentially inflame people. Keyboard warrior and all that.

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or you could be less secretve and cryptic and tell us what the real issue is and what's really been happening. Hypothetical questions almost never get really useful answers.

 

Is this related to your accident and CCTV request? Has something else happened to give you concenr?

Edited by dx100uk
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Never assume anyone on the internet is who they say they are. Only rely on advice from insured professionals you have paid for!

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Dear me. NOTHING has 'been happening' - the employer wants to bring in a protocol that flies in the face of everything that trade unionism membership stands for - the employer should not get involved in any of the processes between member and union rep.

 

Any such move can, and is, be seen as a move to identify who are union members.

 

Marry that to the fact that they are registered to share data of who are union members and there you are.

Edited by dx100uk
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