Medical Privacy
 

Seems QF have been trying to compel pilots to disclose their medical diagnosis, prognosis and expected return to work date under threat of disciplinary action.

After some time in FWA QF have gone away to "clarify" their position.

I knew JQ flight attendant managers had been ringing doctors directly for this information, but with the exception of 1 had not heard of this nonsense being applied to the pilots.

We are not all Qantas/Jetstar employees or even airline employees.

Would you care to explain in greater detail so we at least have some vague idea what you may be talking about???? :confused:

Our loving managers are demanding pilots on sick leave divulge to fleet manager nature of illness.

That is :mad::mad::mad: outrageous!!! :ugh::ugh:
Tell them any attempt to access your records without your express "voluntary" written permission on an individual case by case basis will be met with legal action.
If you tell the company you expect to be off for "approx XXX number of days" based on the info you have of your condition and expected recovery time, that's it, all they need to know.
Yeah, I bet they went to get legal counsel and "clarify" their position after stepping right into it. :ugh::ugh:

Must be a QANTAS thing.

IAC Pacific, company of ex QANTAS employee Moxham, tried to do the same to me. When I refused to comply they docked me about $500 USD per month (for a couple of years) for being uncooperative.

The Vanuatu courts saw it differently. Something about withholding monies without lawful excuse.;)

Maui

The timing on this is intriguing.

Sick leave normally ticks up in the lead up to Christmas - especially when morale and engagement are as appallingly low as they are at the moment. Management make nasty noises about sick leave two weeks out from Christmas. Some interesting context for this can be gleaned from one of the manager's blogs (sorry, for those who don't have access to it).

Who says management are purely reactive?:cool:

That still doesn't make it legal. A phone call from the fair work ombudsman will stop the line of proactive inquiry fairly promptly I would imagine.:hmm:

For a long period of absence I had to have an employer's form completed by the doc. In the space where it said 'Nature of illness", my GP wrote "Illness". This was not queried by the employer.

Neville, I never said it was legal. The mere hint of such action may be enough to force those planning on being sick over Chrissy to reconsider their actions. Objective achieved for management.

if they ask for yours
ask to see Joyce's medical reports

It is highly likely that any Australian doctor being asked by an employer to divulge the nature of an employee's illness would tell that employer, one way or another, to "sod off".

The only exception to this is a Workcover claim. Then the employer has full rights to know the nature of the illness.

In the medical profession, releasing this information to an employer without the permission of the patient is viewed extremely seriously - in fact it is viewed as professional misconduct and can bring very serious repercussions to the doctor.

So it would be very unwise of Qantas to push the issue too far, or they might have a lot of egg land on their face.

What do I know? Not much. But my wife who is a doctor and former DAME does.

Manager: "What is the nature of your illness?"

Employee: "My illness is of a nature that prevents me from coming to work."

End of story.

As far as i know ATCs are required to inform ASA about the nature of the illness when they call in sick.

It is so they can judge if they are sick enough- if not you get reprimanded i believe. If you advise them you are sick because you are tired for whatever reason, you will be reprimanded for not preparing for duty. I guess they are looking to down size so any excuse will do. Save $$$$$$

Geez you guys get worked up over nothing.

OzSync; do you work in a back office somewhere, scratching your managers back perhaps, able to get up and go for a stroll when the pressure mounts, no responsibility, perhaps working out how many toothpicks and coasters Qantas will need to buy next year, then after such an arduous day, take it easy and wait for the weekend to roll by??

Role on....

so you don't mind therefore everyone else should be ok with it? if not, sure, let your managers prod around in your own private matters? let the Corporatocracy roll on!

#gottabetrollin :zzz:

Tell em you have a "social disease" probably picked up from the flight deck John, AND you are talking to your lawyer, that should do it!:E Do you know in my time at TAA if you called in crook, they sometimes would send a "company officer" around to cool your boiling brow, and of course half the time the blokes would be mowing the lawn or tinkering with the car. Thank God those days are over, they just send private detectives now.

Immediate loss of credibility OzSync. :ugh:

As for the whole "nature of illness thing", it works like this at QF (longhaul): If you go on sick leave for a period of time you are required to produce a certificate (stating the nature of illness) in order to access the sick leave entitlement . If you don't then you don't get paid. There is an exception of a maximum of 4 occasions or 7 days each year but even if availing one's self of that, you will not get paid the full pattern credit for any flying lost, it will be a lesser amount.

If I am sick, then I get a sick certificate - simple, and problem solved. Personal or sensitive matters can be discussed with company doctor who can then advise crewing that the matter is genuine and sick pay is warranted.

Recently heard a funny story from a fellow longhaul pilot who said that he called in sick and when asked about the nature of the illness, he said "I'm not sure what it's called and I hope the doctor can give me some cream for it. I can take a photo and send it in if you like". I think that had the desired effect. :)

When I was at QF as ground staff, all I put on my ck leave forms for the nature of illness was "as per certificate". As the certificate normally says "he/she was suffering from a medical condition" that is all they need to know.

As a pilot I would imagine the same would work, except for where they may ask if the condition will affect your aviation medical.