Employers often believe that all communications with HR Advisers are confidential and do not have to be disclosed. This is not the case and this is a major drawback of using an HR Advisor or Consultant rather than a solicitor. HR consultants are not able to claim “legal privilege” as they are not solicitors. It is now very common for an employee to make a Subject Access Request (GDPR) from their employer.
In this request an employee is entitled to see any emails or other documents which contain their personal data. This would include advice provided by an HR Consultant.
This can be extremely problematic for an employer as very often your discussions with HR are the last thing that you would want an employee to see.
