Defamation of Character
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happyandcontented
Posts: 2,768 Forumite
I wonder if anyone has any knowledge of this type of thing? If an accusation made to your employer by a third party (not another employee) is found to be malicious and entirely without foundation (after an investigation) do you have a case for defamation of character?
I don't want to give any more detail as this happened to a friend recently and she is still so angry about it, but I wondered what the legal position would be on this?
I don't want to give any more detail as this happened to a friend recently and she is still so angry about it, but I wondered what the legal position would be on this?
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Against whom? Employer or person making the allegation?0
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The person who made the untrue allegation. My friend understood it had to be investigated.0
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It depends on a huge number of factors.
The first question is, was the complaint made in good faith?
The second, has it actually had any effect on your relationship with anyone else?
Finally can you quantify that?
So for example, had you lost your job as a result of a malicious and false complaint, you tick all three boxes.
But honestly without that detail is as broad as its long.
e.g. I can make a complaint about anything I want, which I reasonably believe to be true. Even if it later turns out I was wrong, you could not come back to me and make a claim. Because there was no malice, it was reasonable for me to ask your employer to investigate something which I believe happened0 -
I see, thank you. I don't know the answers to those questions apart from the fact that the person making the allegations appears to have just made the whole thing up and has done it before as they seem to have a grudge against the company.0
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This happened to my sister, someone wrote a load of cobblers in a complaint letter - I know because I used to volunteer where she worked and the letter included stuff that me and my husband had allegedly done too. My husband didn't work or volunteer for them just picked me up a couple of times. It was a complete fantasy, with no proof. The company admitted there was no proof, the police was even involved they said there was no evidence. There couldn't have been because it wasn't true.
We don't know who it was as the company protected their identity. My sister lost her job because of it. In the dismissal letter it listed the allegation as the reason for sacking her even though in the same letter they admitted there was no proof she had done it.
She had worked there for less than two years so nothing she could do.
It not nice when this sort of thing happens, anyway onto your friends situation.
Not sure if it could be classed as defamation? Possibly harassment if this person had made allegations about her/him before that were untrue and it was clearly done maliciously not through previous genuine concerns.
But in all honesty she/he might just be best leaving it. If at the end of it your friend has not suffered ie they still have there job/haven't lost earnings then it might be best to let it go.0 -
happyandcontented wrote: »I see, thank you. I don't know the answers to those questions apart from the fact that the person making the allegations appears to have just made the whole thing up and has done it before as they seem to have a grudge against the company.
No defamation has occurred then if the person makes numerous vexatious complaints0 -
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e.g. I can make a complaint about anything I want, which I reasonably believe to be true. Even if it later turns out I was wrong, you could not come back to me and make a claim. Because there was no malice, it was reasonable for me to ask your employer to investigate something which I believe happened
Not quite.
There is also the possibility of a simpler and cheaper claim for negligent misstatement, for which it is not necessary to show malice.
So if a detrimental claim was made negligently.....
This is sometime used to seek redress for losses caused by a so called "bad" reference as it avoids the huge risks of a High Court action for libel.0 -
Your friend should go to grievence if the allegations were malicious.Don’t be a can’t, be a can.0
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happyandcontented wrote: »That seems unfair, why would they stop then if nothing is ever done about it?
It depends on you the complaint it to and about.
Public sector gets hundreds of vexatious complaints, but being in the public service makes it more difficult to challenge such behaviour.
A private organisation can simply ignore the person.
Eventually it could lead to harassment charges, but organisations rarely want that in the media0
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