BC – Disclosure of employee misconduct/termination at an external organization

[vickyp]

#80173

Forum: Community

Hi there,
A current employee who works with vulnerable persons under the age of 19 was recently terminated (no criminal charges were laid) from a different organization for alleged misconduct involving children under the employee’s care and supervision. I was notified of the incident through a mutual colleague who works at both organizations. The discloser’s account is secondhand, and my disclosure to HR is thirdhand (I am scheduled to take over the HR Coordinator role myself in 3 weeks’ time). Our organization’s concern is that acting on a thirdhand disclosure to open an investigation violates the employee’s privacy. My question is, can we approach the other organization about this, or should we start by asking our current employee if they have anything to disclose to us?

[vickyp]

#80172

I’m not a privacy expert but I believe you can and must act immediately with or without the employee’s consent to the extent that there’s an overriding personal health and safety need. But while I believe you can legally proceed without consent if you must, you also need to make a non-law, practical decision about how best to proceed based on the situation and especially your relationship with the employee. Do you feel comfortable, consider engaging the employee directly, explaining what you’ve heard and asking for an explanation. At that point, you can decide whether you’re comfortable or need to move forward, including via reaching out to the other organization.
Above all, remember that your paramount concern is the vulnerable people with whom the employee works. Err in the side of their safety and welfare. Also try to talk to a lawyer who can offer legal counsel, bearing in mind that this is just a personal opinion based on an incomplete knowledge of the situation and that I’m not qualified or legally allowed to give you legal advice even if I was closer to the situation. But act fast, okay. Thanks and I hope this helps. Glenn

[Author]

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