has management crossed a line?

loveroflight

Hi
wondering about a situation causing a lot of angst in our school. When a colleague was absent, two members of management, one of whom is the union rep, enquired of a staff member, friend, of the absentee teacher of the mental state of the absentee teacher. Really upset the absentee teacher.
She confronted the two. One apologised. The other wouldn't.
Have they crossed a line? Management have told her its a private matter between the two colleagues.

fionnmar

no i do not think they have crossed the line. it happens, frequently, in industry and in the real world that when people are out sick their well being is questioned. May be physical, may be mental well being. how can this be construed as crossing a line?
Sorry - just re-read your post - if you meant colleague was absent on sick leave then no absolutely not. If you meant colleague was not in the room absent then 2 questioning colleagues mental state are gossiping and petty. Need to know more about the context though

spurious

I think I'd need to know more about the situation and the question posed.
'How's John getting on?' or 'Have you heard from John?' are innocuous enough, whereas something like 'Is John depressed?' is not.

You know your own staff best as to whether any malice was meant by the enquiry.