1 Feb 2006, 09:00

A business manager applied for a personal credit card. The manager advised the credit card company that it could contact the pay clerk at the business' head office (which was overseas) to verify the salary information that he had provided.

Several days later, a credit card company representative telephoned the business at its New Zealand premises. One of the warehouse staff answered the phone. The representative told the staff member how much the manager had stated he earned and asked the staff member to confirm that the figure was correct. The manager complained to me about the disclosure.

Information Privacy Principle 11

Principle 11 of the Privacy Act states that an agency that holds personal information must not disclose that information unless one of the specified exceptions applies. In this case the credit card company acknowledged it had disclosed personal information about the manager. In answering the complaint, the credit card company accepted that it could not rely on any of the exceptions to principle 11 to justify the disclosure.

Section 66

Section 66 defines actions for which redress can be obtained under the Privacy Act through the complaints processes. It calls them 'interferences with privacy'. Section 66(1) states that there will be an interference with the privacy of an individual where there is an action that breaches one of the information privacy principles and results, or may result, in an adverse consequence for the complainant. Section 66(1)(b)(iii) provides that the adverse consequence may be significant humiliation or loss significant loss of dignity.

The manager stated that he was very humiliated by the disclosure. He said that it was especially humiliating for him, as a manager, to have his salary information disclosed to a member of staff. The manager felt that the credit card company's actions had undermined his authority.

It is my view that, in many workplaces, revelation of a person's salary to another staff member would be seriously humiliating. Salary information is generally viewed in New Zealand as being highly sensitive. In this case, I was satisfied that the disclosure had resulted in significant humiliation and loss of dignity for the manager.

I advised the credit card company of my provisional opinion that there had been an interference with privacy. After receiving my provisional opinion, the credit card company offered monetary compensation. The manager accepted the offer and I discontinued my investigation on that basis.

June 2006

Indexing terms: Disclosure of personal information –Credit card company – Manager's salary details disclosed to an employee–Privacy Act 1993, s66(1)(b)(iii) – Information privacy principle 11