ESA Recording

ankspon

Having seen various threads on the legality of recording Medicals for ESA claims can someone enlighten me on the law.I have my 3rd medical in January and due to lies being told on the previous 2 i would like to record it,can i?

Cpt.Scarlet

You can legally, covertly record the interview, but if you are found to be doing so, or attempt to overtly record it, then the interview will be terminated and it may be classed as a failure.

ankspon

Best not to be upfront about it then,but if lies are told again can i legally use the recording as proof?

Uncertain

It is not illegal to secretly record a conversation you are party to. By this I mean you cannot be carted off by the police and charged with any crime.

If you left the recorder running to find out what was said in your absence (i.e bugging) then this could be illegal and you could potentially be prosecuted.

What you can and cannot do with the recording is more complex. This crops up from time to time on the employment forum (where I normally hang out). Secret recording have sometimes be allowed as evidence by tribunals but equally there have been occasions where they have been excluded. It is up to the judge to rule on the circumstances of each case.

The recording could certainly be used as evidence of a crime so it may come in handy if you were indecently assaulted by the HCP!

Cpt.Scarlet

There is no legal precedent for using a recording as evidence at a Benefit Tribunal, however, there is at an Employment one (Amwell View School vs Dogherty), so it could be argued, for the Purposes of Natural Justice, it should be allowed. To make it more likely to be accepted you need to provide a transcript and copy of the full recording (not just the bits you want to refer to), to all parties.

WhiteHorse

Covertly recording any face-to-face conversation is not illegal. Recording a transmitted conversation (eg telephone) without permission is illegal.

ankspon

Hopefully it won't have to be used but if needed the whole recording would be used if necessary

Arg

If you can find the official decision on recording medicals you will see how much of a joke their findings were.
To sum it up,they decided that sick people getting a proper medical and benefits was less important than someone openly recording a fake doctor and possibly making them look bad.

I found the link if anyone wants to see all of it.
http://www.administrativeappeals.tribunals.gov.uk/aspx/view.aspx?id=2663

Morlock

WhiteHorse wrote: »

Recording a transmitted conversation (eg telephone) without permission is illegal.

No it isn't, as long as the recordee is a party in that conversation, and not recording two third-parties without their knowledge.

rogerblack

Arg wrote: »

If you can find the official decision on recording medicals you will see how much of a joke their findings were.
To sum it up,they decided that sick people getting a proper medical and benefits was less important than someone openly recording a fake doctor and possibly making them look bad.

I found the link if anyone wants to see all of it.
http://www.administrativeappeals.tribunals.gov.uk/aspx/view.aspx?id=2663

If you read this decision, you find that it's found that the DWPs process - the requirement for a 'proper' evidence recorder, with a sound engineer, ... is questioned as not being reasonable.

However.

This is only of use if you want to try to turn up (as the above judgement says you should be able to), after saying you want to record, and getting their agreement, with two ordinary tape recorders or dictaphones, and attempt to (openly) record, only to have it refused, and your benefit stopped due to non-compliance.

You can then probably get your money back on appeal, if the tribunal agrees that the DWP is being unreasonable, though this is likely to take the best part of a year, with no payments in between.

WhiteHorse

Morlock wrote: »

No it isn't, as long as the recordee is a party in that conversation, and not recording two third-parties without their knowledge.

It's a breach of the Telecommunications Act.

That's why when you call firms, there is a recorded message warning you that they may record you. If you continue after the warning, permission may be implied.

There has to be permission, but only for transmissions.