Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Tribunal WatchCase lawEmployment tribunals

Large costs award: claimants secretly recorded employer’s legal advice

by Stephen Simpson 18 Jul 2016
by Stephen Simpson 18 Jul 2016

An employment tribunal threw out four claimants’ cases and ordered them to pay a total of £69,484 in costs after an NHS trust’s chief executive and lawyers were sent a secret recording of a privileged conversation.

Costs order after NHS trust was sent covert recording of meeting with lawyers
In Zia and others v Brighton University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, an employment tribunal struck out four claimants’ cases and ordered them to pay £17,371 each in costs.

Legal professional privilege: the tribunal’s view

“It is an absolute right for legal professional privilege to be protected…”

“The claimants in this case violated the principle of legal professional privilege and that violation is incapable of remedy…If the tribunal were in some way to…water down the protection of legal privilege, it would undermine the basic common law and Convention rights which are at the heart of our legal system.”

“We conclude that the claimants secured an advantage by covertly recording privileged communications and then sought to use those recordings to gain an advantage in the legal proceedings.”

Brighton University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was facing race discrimination claims by four claimants.

During the case, the NHS trust’s chief executive and lawyers received an anonymous recording and transcript of a meeting with its lawyers before the case began.

The recording and transcript were of a discussion that took place between the trust and its lawyers directly after a without prejudice meeting with the claimants.

The claimants and their counsel had left the room, but it was clear from the recording that someone had started the recording shortly before the without prejudice meeting ended.

The NHS trust applied to the employment tribunal to have the four claimants’ cases struck out.

The employment tribunal accepted that the claimants were responsible for leaving the recording device in the room before they left the meeting, and that a fair hearing was no longer possible.

The tribunal also concluded that the claimants sent the recording to the NHS trust to “place pressure on the respondent to settle the case”.

The tribunal accepted that the information obtained through the recording was legally privileged and confidential information.

The employment tribunal struck out the four claimants’ cases.

The tribunal noted that it is very rare to see a case in which privileged material has been obtained covertly and is used to secure an advantage in litigation.

The employment tribunal awarded costs to the NHS trust. The claimants were ordered to pay £17,371 each. The tribunal made them jointly liable for the total costs of £69,484.

Read more details of the case and practical tips in the light of the judgment…

 

Other tribunal decisions in the headlines

Employment law glossary

Without prejudice defined

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner loses towel tribunal
A senior Met Police officer has lost a sex discrimination case sparked after a male colleague was seen in a corridor wearing only a towel, reports the BBC.

Liver surgeon in line for five-figure payout
A liver surgeon could be in line for a five-figure payout after it was ruled he was unfairly dismissed, says the Lancashire Telegraph.

Social worker was unfairly dismissed
An employment tribunal found Norfolk County Council unfairly dismissed a senior social worker following an “entire process” that was flawed, according to EDP24.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Leeds United tribunal: “I’ll never get a job in football again”
A former Leeds United employee who successfully claimed unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination against the club has told a tribunal she fears she will never get a job in football again, reports the Yorkshire Post.

Taylor-Mills: “I went bust paying minimum wage on fringe”
Producer Paul Taylor-Mills has told The Stage that he was forced to wind up his production company after being financially crippled by a duty to pay actors properly on the fringe.

Stephen Simpson

Stephen Simpson is Principal HR Strategy and Practice Editor at Brightmine. His areas of responsibility include the policies and documents and law reports. After obtaining a law degree and training to be a solicitor, he moved into publishing, initially with Butterworths. He joined Brightmine in its early days in 2001.

previous post
How to get it right in the generation game
next post
Predictive recruitment analytics: are you ready for the future?

You may also like

Restaurant tips should be included in holiday pay

21 May 2025

Consultation launched after Supreme Court ‘sex’ ruling

20 May 2025

Black security manager awarded £360k after decade of...

20 May 2025

Minister defends Employment Rights Bill at Acas conference

16 May 2025

CBI chair Soames accuses ministers of not listening...

16 May 2025

Union rep teacher awarded £370k for unfair dismissal

15 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

Tribunal finds need for degree in redundancy selection...

14 May 2025

Construction workers win compensation claim against defunct employer

9 May 2025

NHS worker awarded £29k after Darth Vader comparison

8 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+