Life in the diaspora: EAP confidentiality, how private is your conversation?
By Mary Opii
When an employer tells you that you can access an Employee Assistance Programme, (EAP), one of the first questions that may come to mind is whether the service is actually confidential. You may be willing to speak to a counsellor or adviser about something affecting your life, but there may also be a quiet concern at the back of your mind: will my manager find out what I said?
It is a reasonable question, particularly because the service is usually provided as part of your employment. Your employer may have arranged the programme and may even pay for it, so it is understandable that an employee might wonder whether using the service means the employer will have access to their personal information.
READ ALSO: Life in the diaspora: EAP – the workplace benefit you may not know you have
Generally, EAP services are intended to provide confidential support. In practical terms, this usually means that if you contact an EAP to discuss a personal or emotional difficulty, the details of your conversation are not simply passed on to your manager or HR.
This distinction is important because an EAP may deal with matters that have nothing to do with an employee’s performance at work. You might be dealing with relationship difficulties, financial pressure, bereavement, family problems, emotional distress or personal issue. You could be performing perfectly well at work while having personal issues, and the purpose of the EAP is to give you a place to seek appropriate support.
However, confidentiality does not mean that information can never be disclosed under any circumstances. There can be specific exceptions, particularly where there are serious concerns about someone’s safety, safeguarding matters or legal obligations. The exact circumstances will depend on the EAP provider, the type of service being used and the situation involved.
This is why employees should avoid making assumptions about confidentiality. Before using an EAP, it is perfectly reasonable to find out how the particular service works. Your employer’s EAP information should explain how to access the service, what confidentiality means, what information may be shared and the circumstances in which confidentiality might have to be broken.
Another point that employees may not always understand is the difference between personal information and general information about the service. An organisation may receive general statistics from an EAP provider, such as the number of employees who have accessed the service or broad categories of issues being presented. This can help an employer understand whether its workforce is using the support available and whether there are wider wellbeing issues that need attention.
That does not necessarily mean that the employer is being given the details of individual conversations. There is a significant difference between an organisation knowing that employees have accessed an EAP and a manager being told exactly what a particular employee discussed with a counsellor.
For someone who is new to working in the UK, understanding these boundaries can be especially helpful. Workplace systems can sometimes operate differently from what we have experienced elsewhere, and there is often a lot of information contained in employee handbooks, policies and staff portals. It is easy to know that a benefit exists without understanding how it actually works.
You can find out who provides the service, how to contact them, whether your family members can access it and, importantly, what the confidentiality arrangements are.
There should also be no embarrassment in asking questions. If you are unsure whether your conversation will remain private, ask the EAP provider to explain the limits of confidentiality before discussing your situation. Understanding the boundaries does not mean that you are being difficult or that you do not trust your employer. It simply means that you want to make an informed decision about using a service that is available to you.
For Nigerians living in the diaspora, this is another aspect of understanding the employment system in the UK. An EAP can provide professional support, but people are more likely to use it when they understand what happens when they make that first call.
The important lesson is therefore not to assume that EAP confidentiality means everything is automatically private, nor to assume that your employer will automatically know everything you discuss. The reality is more balanced. EAP services are generally designed to be confidential, but there are boundaries and exceptions that employees should understand.
So, the next time you see information about your workplace EAP, take a moment to read the confidentiality information and understand the terms of the service. Knowing where the boundaries are can give you the confidence to seek support when you need it, without allowing unnecessary fears about confidentiality to prevent you from using a benefit that was provided to support you.
