Punjab National Bank v Gosain
In this case the Claimant hid a tape recorder in the room in which her disciplinary and grievance hearing was taking place. She captured comments made during her employer’s private deliberations and wanted to use this as evidence at her tribunal hearing.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) held that, in these circumstances, the evidence was admissible. It would not normally be the case when employers are deliberating in private on the matters in question. Here, however, the employer was alleged to have made wholly inappropriate comments about the employee when she was out the room which were not directly relevant to the matters in question. The EAT stated the correct test is to undertake a balancing exercise, setting the general rule of admissibility of relevant evidence against the public policy interest in preserving the confidentiality of private deliberations in the internal grievance/disciplinary context.
In Practice
Employment Associate Paul Burton says, “We have seen many cases in which employees have covertly recorded meetings and it is always down to the specific circumstances of each case as to whether the recording will be admissible at later tribunal proceedings. We always advise employees that they should request to record a meeting and provide good reason(s) as to why they wish to do so.”
At Frettens, all of our solicitors offer a free initial meeting to chat on the phone to answer your questions. If this article raises issues for you or your business, please call us on 01202 499255 and Kate or Paul will be happy to discuss it with you.
Comments