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Someone at work disclosed that I have a support worker

Cookiesmum1986

I don't know what it is with my work. 

I'm working with a support worker through access to work to try and make my working environment a bit more autism friendly. I've only told my manager about this directly and she's obviously told my supervisor as I need time to actually speak to said support worker. As I work in the nhs patient facing the whole process is done by phone. 

I was working on Saturday and my colleague asked how I was getting on with my support worker. I answered in a neutral sort of way because I wasn't expecting the question and I was in the middle of a work task. 

I don't know who would have told her, it's not like she could have worked it out by seeing him as he's never here. I take the calls in another area and it's not strange for me to take calls at work because I have hospital appointments and university stuff that happens by phone too. 

If my manager told her it would have been because she's assumed that I've already told her (she's the first person I disclosed my autism to without needing to), if my supervisor disclosed then I'm not sure what that would have been about. 

Now I'm worried that more people know about me than I am aware of and it's making me wonder who knows what and why people are talking about it. 

I can't ask my colleague who told her because she is off all week on annual leave. I don't think I could ask my supervisor because we have a terrible relationship, I don't work on the same site as my manager and I don't think this is a conversation for email or phone because people take my tone differently than I expect them to. 

So I'm not sure what to do. I obviously can't undo what's happened but I'd like to know the reasoning and I'm not sure how I'd find that out without making people turn on me. 

Parents

  • I would discuss it with your support worker.  They should be in contact with your manager for other things, and would be in a position to explain why disclosure without your knowledge or consent is wrong.  Many people who are neurotypical seem to think that we are the ones who are always in the wrong with regards to how we interact with and treat people, but they then do things like this.  It never makes any sense to me either and it makes me deeply uncomfortable.

    I agree that this is not a conversation to have by email or phone.  Asking your co-worker how they found out may come across as accusatory, but it may also be worth the risk because it shows just how upset you are about private information being discussed.

    Given the nature of the information, it is worth asking whether they should have disclosed it, too.  I believe that they may have been in the wrong, legally speaking, but it would be worth taking advice on that.  That this happened in the context of an NHS workplace, where people are supposed to have an enhanced understanding of confidentiality and privacy anyway, is especially concerning, and so it should be raised urgently and with care.  However, i think it is worth waiting so that you can get your support worker involved.

    I would take detailed notes about the timeline and the events that have occurred that lead you to the conclusion that there has been unauthorised disclosure of your personal data, and share this with your support worker.  Make sure you also explain how it made you feel (eg violated), as this could be helpful to them when making your case.

Reply

  • I would discuss it with your support worker.  They should be in contact with your manager for other things, and would be in a position to explain why disclosure without your knowledge or consent is wrong.  Many people who are neurotypical seem to think that we are the ones who are always in the wrong with regards to how we interact with and treat people, but they then do things like this.  It never makes any sense to me either and it makes me deeply uncomfortable.

    I agree that this is not a conversation to have by email or phone.  Asking your co-worker how they found out may come across as accusatory, but it may also be worth the risk because it shows just how upset you are about private information being discussed.

    Given the nature of the information, it is worth asking whether they should have disclosed it, too.  I believe that they may have been in the wrong, legally speaking, but it would be worth taking advice on that.  That this happened in the context of an NHS workplace, where people are supposed to have an enhanced understanding of confidentiality and privacy anyway, is especially concerning, and so it should be raised urgently and with care.  However, i think it is worth waiting so that you can get your support worker involved.

    I would take detailed notes about the timeline and the events that have occurred that lead you to the conclusion that there has been unauthorised disclosure of your personal data, and share this with your support worker.  Make sure you also explain how it made you feel (eg violated), as this could be helpful to them when making your case.

Children
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