Occupational Health reports, reports from your own doctor and full medical records are different things. Employers should request only work-relevant information, explain why it is needed and keep health information limited to people who genuinely need access.
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Consent and access
You can be asked to agree to an OH assessment or a medical report. Where a doctor is asked to provide a report, the Access to Medical Reports rules give rights that can include seeing the report first and asking for correction of inaccurate or misleading information. An employer does not receive your complete medical record through this process.
Refusing consent has consequences
You may refuse, but management may then make decisions from the information it already holds. The better first step is usually to understand the request, limit it to relevant questions and record any concern about accuracy, scope or access.
Members can unlock: a consent decision checklist, questions to ask before signing, report-access and correction steps, confidentiality controls, wording for limiting unnecessary disclosure and a response plan where health data has been mishandled.
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