Do I have a case for constructive dismissal?

mennie

Hi please can anyone advise on the following?

I was recently asked to log on to someones emails at work as they were suspended pending an investigation. I was asked to look for anything suspicious.

Whilst I was looking I found lots of emails about myself and time off I took due to two miscarriages this year. Most where just nasty between a manager and a memeber of staff. But one was an email I had forwarded to my boss from home detailing my hospital treatment. She has forwarded this to a manager saying that she is !!!!ed off and then that manager has forward it to another member of staff.

I logged back into these emails the following day to print them off as proof.

When my boss came back at first she was really apologetic and offered me time off and said If I wanted to leave without notice they would see I was ok until I got another job. She has came back today saying that I am at fault and that the staff are entitled to their opinions and can say what they want. She say that I am in breach of IT poilcy and have abused my position.

I have ended up walking up as I was so upset and have been so stressed ever since I found these emails, I havent slept.

Do I have a case?

Thanks

Mips

Have you printed them all off?

You were the one asked to look for these emails!

mennie

Thanks

Yes I have printed them but what they are saying is that I was asked to log on once. I logged on the following day to print them, does that matter.

They are also saying that at the bottom of each email it says that it is intended for the addressee only and that I have taken private company emails home. She basically had a right go at me and I just walked out.

Incisor

mennie wrote: »

Thanks

Yes I have printed them but what they are saying is that I was asked to log on once. I logged on the following day to print them, does that matter.

They are also saying that at the bottom of each email it says that it is intended for the addressee only and that I have taken private company emails home. She basically had a right go at me and I just walked out.

Did they explicitly tell you to log on only once? Thought not.

If you sue for libel, you can actually get the court to order the company to pony up the emails as evidence [theis is called 'discovery']. Might be worth thinking about how you mention that?

DaisyFlower

Were the emails you found from or to the person whose emails you were asked to look at?

If not, then yes you did breach privacy rules etc and I would have thought they could take it further.

If the emails were to/from the account you were asked to look at it its different. However you may have some arguing to do as to why you logged back on after completing the original task.

mennie

yes they were to and from the person

cazziebo

mennie wrote: »

Hi please can anyone advise on the following?

I was recently asked to log on to someones emails at work as they were suspended pending an investigation. I was asked to look for anything suspicious.

Whilst I was looking I found lots of emails about myself and time off I took due to two miscarriages this year. Most where just nasty between a manager and a memeber of staff. But one was an email I had forwarded to my boss from home detailing my hospital treatment. She has forwarded this to a manager saying that she is !!!!ed off and then that manager has forward it to another member of staff.

I logged back into these emails the following day to print them off as proof.

When my boss came back at first she was really apologetic and offered me time off and said If I wanted to leave without notice they would see I was ok until I got another job. She has came back today saying that I am at fault and that the staff are entitled to their opinions and can say what they want. She say that I am in breach of IT poilcy and have abused my position.

I have ended up walking up as I was so upset and have been so stressed ever since I found these emails, I havent slept.

Do I have a case?

Thanks

I don't see where this is constructive dismissal? (Could be that I'm being obtuse as had a long hard day after a long hard week!)

What I do think you have is a grievance against your manager that your privacy has been breached. This could go on to a case of sex discrimination, as your manager has mentioned that you terminate your employment, this has originated in these emails regarding a miscarriage, and I'm guessing her gripe is the associated absence which would not be incurred by a male.

Don't see that they have a leg to stand on about you breaching an IT policy tbh. Are you in a union? If not, I would give ACAS a call.

Only having one side of the story, I'm reading it that your line manager has taken a bit of a fright here and is looking for a way out. Dodgy ground, and from what you have said, don't see what you've done wrongly.

Conor_3

Who gave you permission to go into someone elses e-mail account? Were you told to specifically look for a certain thing?

My take on this is that no matter how upsetting these emails were, they had absolutely nothing to do with the investigation you were undertaking and you should not have opened them.

lilac_lady

Did someone give you the password to get into another staff member's emails? If so, THEY are in breach of their contract regarding Data Protection. I hope you're in a union.

cazziebo

lilac_lady wrote: »

Did someone give you the password to get into another staff member's emails? If so, THEY are in breach of their contract regarding Data Protection. I hope you're in a union.

If the company has a Data Protection policy saying that any emails sent from co equipment/email addresses are co property then there is no breach. (And most companies were very quick to adopt one after the Norton Rose case!)

cazziebo

Conor wrote: »

Who gave you permission to go into someone elses e-mail account? Were you told to specifically look for a certain thing?

My take on this is that no matter how upsetting these emails were, they had absolutely nothing to do with the investigation you were undertaking and you should not have opened them.

Conor

I love reading your posts because you don't mince words and tell it how it is.

However, if discrimination is uncovered, no matter the means, then the fact remains that discrimination is an offence. The OP discovered this when following an instruction from a superior. Rock solid case imo

C