Can Employer Demand to See Prescribed Medication Details?

The Data Protection Act

If an employer gathers information about the prescribed medication taken by staff, the Data Protection Act applies. In other words, the right of workers to a measure of privacy has legal support.

This support is not absolute, however. The Data Protection Act allows employers a certain degree of freedom. This means that employers can request health data, but must do so only if they satisfy one of the Act’s “sensitive data conditions”.

The Sensitive Data Conditions

Employers can only meet a sensitive data condition if:

  • the collection of the heath information is necessary to maintain health and safety, or
  • the collection is needed to prevent discrimination against disabled workers, or
  • every member of staff has agreed to the collection.

In this instance, it seems likely that the employer is concerned about health and safety. The industry is construction, and it’s possible that the employer wants to ensure staff are not taking medication that may put them and their colleagues at risk.

As for the other conditions, there may be issues around disability discrimination, although the question doesn’t suggest this. It’s also clear that at least one member of staff hasn’t consented to the collection of medical information.

Nonetheless, the employer appears to satisfy one of the sensitive data conditions. Even so, despite the employer’s belief that gathering medical data is important, this does not grant a free hand to bully staff into producing it with threats of disciplinary action.

Other Principles

This is where other parts of the Data Protection Act come into play. Employers must state why they wish to see health information, and must explain the benefits they expect to come from this policy.

Furthermore, employers mustn’t keep these reasons and justifications to themselves. They must tell their staff what they hope to achieve.

The employer in this question doesn’t appear to have explained anything. This approach is unreasonable under the terms of the Data Protection Act. The employer needs to change tack and win staff confidence. If the employer insists on maintaining the current approach, staff may wish to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and ask it to intervene.