GDPR: Model sickness, redundancy and variation of contract documents updated
Our model policies and documents on sickness and sick pay, redundancy and variation of contract have been updated to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
GDPR data protection documents
Data protection documents to use in your GDPR compliance efforts include:
Sickness absence management processes often require employers to gather "health data", which falls within the special categories of personal data under the GDPR. For example, employers could be handling health data when:
- verifying and recording the reasons for sickness absence;
- holding meetings related to sickness absence, such as sickness absence review meetings and return-to-work interviews; and
- obtaining medical reports on employees.
Employers should ensure that personal data collected for the purposes of dealing with potential or actual redundancies is treated in accordance with their data protection policy.
During a redundancy process, employee representatives, as employees, must comply with employers' data protection policy in respect of the personal data collected. Trade union representatives, in their capacity as trade union officials, are part of the trade union and the trade union must comply with applicable data protection rules, including issuing privacy notices where appropriate.
When seeking to vary employees' contracts of employment, personal data may be passed between different parts of the organisation (for example between line managers and the HR department). Employers should ensure that employees are aware of how their data is being used and the basis for processing the data, via an employee privacy notice.
It is also important for employers to be satisfied that employee representatives understand the requirements of the GDPR when processing personal data during a consultation process for varying employees' contracts of employment.
The following sickness and sick pay, redundancy and variation of contract documents have therefore been updated:
Sickness and sick pay
- Short-term sickness absence policy
- Long-term sickness absence policy
- Obtaining medical reports policy
- Sickness absence self-certification form
- Letter confirming outcome of stage 1 short-term sickness absence meeting
- Letter confirming outcome of stage 2 short-term sickness absence meeting
- Letter confirming outcome of stage 3 short-term sickness absence meeting
- Letter confirming outcome of short-term sickness absence appeal hearing
- Letter confirming outcome of stage 1 long-term sickness absence meeting
- Letter to employee requesting consent to obtain medical report from employee's own doctor/consultant
- Form seeking employee's consent to obtain medical report from employee's own doctor/consultant
- Letter requesting employee attends medical examination with occupational health
- Letter confirming what has been agreed following short-term sickness absence return-to-work meeting
- Form to record short-term sickness absence return-to-work meeting
- Record of home visit to employee on long-term sickness absence
- Letter requesting that an employee attend a medical examination
- Form for an employee to consent to a medical examination
Redundancy
- Redundancy policy
- Letter informing employee of proposed redundancies (individual consultation)
- Letter inviting employee to first meeting to discuss their provisional selection for redundancy (individual consultation)
- Letter inviting employees to apply for voluntary redundancy
- Application form for voluntary redundancy
- Letter informing trade union or employee representatives of proposed redundancies (collective redundancy consultation)
- Letter to trade union or employee representatives permitting access to employees (collective redundancy consultation)
- Electing employee representatives procedure (collective redundancy consultation)
- Letter to affected employees initiating process for electing employee representatives (collective redundancy consultation)
- Letter to notify successfully nominated individuals that they will stand for election as employee representatives (collective redundancy consultation)
- Letter to election candidates announcing result of election for employee representatives (collective redundancy consultation)
Other documents updated
Employee relations
Criminal records
Variation of contract
- Varying terms and conditions procedure
- Letter informing trade union or employee representative of proposed changes to contract terms (where change affects 20 or more employees)
- Letter informing affected employees of proposed changes to contract terms (where change affects 20 or more employees)
- Letter inviting trade union or employee representative to consultation meeting to discuss proposed changes to contract terms (where change affects 20 or more employees)
- Letter inviting employee to consultation meeting to discuss proposal to change contract terms (in exercise of contractual right)