In today’s workplace, it’s normal for employers to be cautious about staff absences but where should they draw the line?
Recently, a local doctor took to his Threads account to call out what he felt was an overstep by a HR personnel, who had bombarded him with personal medical questions after receiving a long medical certificate (MC) from one of their employees.
HR pushing boundaries?
In his post, the doctor said that while it’s acceptable for HR to verify whether an MC is authentic, it’s another thing entirely to probe into the private medical details of a patient.
Here’s what the doctor wrote:
Company HR, please know your limits. I understand that you’re concerned when a staff member gets a long medical certificate (MC), but don’t put clinics in an awkward position.”
He added that while it’s understandable to check if an MC is legitimate especially since there have been cases where patients edited the number of MC days or even switched names on the certificate, some questions simply cross the line.
Questions that cross the line
The doctor went on to list the type of inappropriate questions he received, which included:
– What illness did the patient have?
– What was their temperature during the visit?
– Were specific tests done?
– Why was the MC given for so many days?
He reminded that such information is protected under doctor-patient confidentiality and cannot legally be shared without consent.
Those are private and confidential matters between doctor and patient. Legally, doctors cannot disclose that. Why not just ask your staff directly instead?”
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
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