Data protection & colleague illness - Covid?

[AnnO'Neemus]

What's the score?

In training for a new job, been in a small room all day (apart from lunch and brief tea & pee breaks) with four new starters, including me, plus a staff member training, and another staff member joined us for a bit of the training. No open windows, no one wearing masks in the office.

One of the other new starters phoned in sick today. Now I'm feeling a bit nervous about training in that small room. I don't know whether they're off with covid-type symptoms, or confirmed Covid, or whether it's something else. I think the trainer didn't know, and I'm not sure she could've told us anyway.

I'm supposed to be going somewhere else tomorrow night, but I'm wondering if I've been exposed, and whether it would be prudent to self-isolate myself. How/when are we supposed to know?

On the one hand, we don't have any right to know why a colleague is off-sick, data protection and all that, but on the other, don't we have a right to know if someone might've infected us with a potentially deadly disease?

 

[Supine]

I’ve not heard of any data protection issues anywhere I’ve been working during covid. It has all been open knowledge who gets it etc.

Based on no data I think it would be prudent to do a LFT before going wherever you plan to go. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[Looby]

When people on my team had Covid we were told to isolate but weren’t specifically told who had tested positive. Obviously we all told each other anyway but that was the individual’s choice.
I would assume/hope that if they tested positive then close contacts would be told they’d been exposed.

They might just have had a migraine!

 

[farmerbarleymow]

In normal times it might depend on whether the condition is a notifiable disease - can't remember if covid is classed as one. But the notification route might depend on what condition is involved. But for covid I'd expect any responsible organisation would tell people there has been a case in the vicinity so others can take appropriate precautions, such as tests, etc.

 

[DaveCinzano]

The wonders of the interweb!

List of notifiable diseases
Diseases notifiable to local authority proper officers under the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010:

• ...COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) listed as a notifiable disease

The government has taken urgent steps to list coronavirus as a notifiable disease in law.

www.gov.uk

Employers may need to keep staff informed about COVID-19 cases in their workplace but should not name the individual.

Coronavirus: your rights at work | UNISON National

During this coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) pandemic, find out what your rights at work are if taking sick leave or self-isolating, if you have to go into your work place, if you're in a vulnerable group and more.

www.unison.org.uk

 

[farmerbarleymow]

The wonders of the interweb!

I couldn't be arsed to search.