Breach of confidentiality and other issues

[Doingmybest]

Hello, not sure where to post this??

I work in the health service and my friend works for a localauthority. We have pooled our skills and experience and started a businessoffering social care. As we have worked in this field for many years, we haveseen that we can help to fill the gaps and deliver a service.

In a nutshell, my friend’s employers have suspended him onthe grounds that he has not declared a conflict of interest and that he wasoperating our business while he was being paid to work for them. This is basedon private emails that I have sent him to his work email. All rubbish aseverything has been done in our own time. Any emails I sent him were forinformation and updating purposes and general chit chat.

What makes it worse is that when he tried to approach hismanager about what we are doing they refused to speak with him about it. Thereisn't a conflict of interest because our business will be to support localauthority's to perform their statutory duties and responsibilities.

They have used this information that I have sent him andapproached clients (who are over local authorities) of ours as part of theirinvestigation. They have admitted that they are doing this and that they haveused the information from the emails that I have sent to my friend. They alsoinformed him that they will be contacting other third parties!!!!

He was interviewed this week and the majority of theinterview was about 'ME'. They are asking questions about my health as theyfound out that I had been signed off work for a few months and during that timeI had sent him emails. They actually accused me of 'working' while on sickleave - not to me but to my friend during his investigation interview.

They asked about my interest in the company, my role, myfinancial circumstances plus a lot of other

These questions are none of their business and cannot berelevant to their investigation!!

I spoke with my employer and declared what I am doing. I didas we have nothing to hide, and are doing nothing illegal and they have beencool about it as there is no conflict of interest and initially all workwill be done in my own time until things take off.

Now, I know that they are totally overstepping the mark andI believe that their actions are likely to cause harm to my business and alsomy personal and professional reputation but would appreciate some advice as towhat and how to approach this please.

[unclebulgaria67]

Your friend needs to consult an employment solicitor, as the council are acting like an old Soviet bloc regime.

 

What I think the problem is, that the council are probably in the process of negotiations with private companies to deliver the services that your new company may be offering. Many council authorities now profit share from the services they contract to private companies and they use the money towards the councils budget.

 

In regard to employment law/contracts my limited understanding is that these normally state that you have to inform your employers of any other outside work you will be doing. If your friend informed his line manager of the nature of this new business you are setting up, then they met their obligations under their contract of employment.

 

When you send any emails to a company address, they can use the information for whatever purpose they like. It is normal practice for employers to monitor the emails of their employees and the employers can use the email content as they wish, including any disciplinary proceedings. It would not surprise me if the council looked at possible dismissal and therefore your friends needs to get legal help asap. If they are members of a union, then they may have Solicitors who can help.

 

In regard to your own situation, again I would suggest speaking to a Solicitor. I have a feeling that they will tell you that it was your mistake sending information to a friends work address and your friends employers can use the information as they wish.

[Doingmybest]

Thanks for your reply.

It is very over the top and really getting out of hand.

He has sort legal advice and his lawyer advised that hewrite to the council and ask them to explain the relevance of the questionsthat they are asking to their investigation.

He also advised that he contacts and informs them that;

1 Their actions are causing difficulties and possible financial loss to yourcompany,

2 That they should immediately stop contacting third parties at least until hehas clearly demonstrated the relevance and purpose of the investigations,

3 that our company is considering taking action against them.

He did try before all this to speak with them about thebusiness but they would not.

In hindsight your right, it was stupid to send emailsregarding our business to his work email but are they really allowed to use theinfo within to speak to people about 'my' interest and cause damage? One of thecouncils that we were about to do some work for have gone cold on us since theyhave been contacted by them.

I will be speaking to a layer on Monday so will have aclearer idea then I think.

[steampowered]

I don't know the full story but I can understand why this is an issue for the council. As a director of the company your friend is under a duty to provide as many services as he can, at the lowest cost and highest price possible. As an employee of the council he is under a duty to minimise the council's costs and extract a good deal from external providers. He is working for both the buyer and seller of health services. It is easy to see how these interests conflict and I can understand why the council expect him to declare this. Public sector organisations take conflicts of interest very seriously because they have to be very careful not to give the impression that they are corrupt. Whether this is a real issue will depend on whether your friend's contract restricts conflicts of interest, and also the nature of his role in the council (there is less of a problem if he is not involved in purchasing decisions).

 

If I was a manager at the council I would be very concerned about you sending sending emails to do with your private business providing healthcare services while signed off sick from your healthcare job. I don't know the full background but it sounds very inappropriate to be running your own healthcare business while signed off-sick from a healthcare job. That said there is not much you can do about this unless the council take action, you can't control whether or not they discipline your friend.

[Emmzzi]

I agree with everything steampower says. An employer is within their rights to make you choose which employment you are going with if there is a conflict. It's not "soviet bloc" at all, it is protecting the spending of public funds ie the taxes you and me pay! In addition people who need to depend on the electorate for their position need to be seen to be squeaky clean so will investigate council services very carefully.

 

To think this is not an issue is naive.

 

He needs a solicitor.

[Emmzzi]

PS get copy of the IT policy. I think you will find all emails are the property of the council, so they can do what they like with the contents...

[unclebulgaria67]

I agree with everything steampower says. An employer is within their rights to make you choose which employment you are going with if there is a conflict. It's not "soviet bloc" at all, it is protecting the spending of public funds ie the taxes you and me pay! In addition people who need to depend on the electorate for their position need to be seen to be squeaky clean so will investigate council services very carefully.

 

To think this is not an issue is naive.

 

He needs a solicitor.

 

Agreed.

 

What I meant by 'soviet bloc' is that the employers did not appear to have told their employee exactly what their concerns were and had an appropriate process for dealing with this. As a line manager for a private company, if I am dealing with issues such as this, I have a companies HR policy to guide me. If an employee advised me that they were in the process of setting up a company outside of work, which would cause a conflict of interest, I would have to follow a set process. This would be to sit down with the employee to complete a questionnaire and to urgently refer it to an HR manager and/or unit manager. It might be the case that the employee would have to stop certain work they were doing, that related to the conflict. They might be told to choose which employment they wished to pursue, as their new company was in total conflict with their employers interests.

 

We can only go by what the OP has posted. The council appear to have thrown up a wall (security/silence), when this new business venture was mentioned. They have then been monitoring their employees emails and have now taken them down a disciplinary route, without appearing to have given their employee the benefit of a proper HR process, where the employee can ask to be legally represented, union rep or other person to be present, when subject to any disciplinary meeting. That is what I meant by 'soviet bloc'. I can understand the council having to protect taxpayer interest and being squeaky clean. If this is the case, they should have acted properly when first told about this outside business interest.

[Emmzzi]

Indeed. But "what conversation? You never said a thing to me!" is heading towards this fast.

 

All this should have been in writing.

[Doingmybest]

Thanks all for your replies and thoughts, very much appreciated.

 

I appreciate that the council would be concerned about a business that could be seen to be in conflict with there own business but there is and would never be any conflict. It was clear to us that we would eventually approach the council to do work for them and that they could be open to allegations of favouritism as my friend works for them. That is why he approached them to ask what process he should follow in order to avoid this.

 

He is not involved in purchasing or commissioning within the council and has no influence over what company's the council use which makes it more confusing that they have taken such a stance.

 

We have looked through the IT and email policy and the approach in both is that people are going to use email and internet for purposes other than the council's work and they encourage that. They even go as far giving alternate safe links to get on Facebook and YouTube, and of course you cannot use it to run your own business.

 

The emails I sent to him were regarding innocent day to day things. I admit that I did forward email to him that I received so that he could see it if he had the chance. We didn't discuss business over email.

 

I am more concerned with the allegations that they are making about me to 3rd parties as I didn't work when I was off sick. I responded to emails a I could of done if I was at work on my phone. I did not earn any money and made no business deals while of sick (not that it's any of their business as I don't work for them). I sent emails and spoke on the phone.

 

The point is taken that once the email gets into their system then it's there's but surely my personal information isn't theirs to do with as they wish especially as they're using it in the way that they are?