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

Redundancy

Other documents updated

Employee relations

Criminal records

Variation of contract