Previous employer using a photo of me for their winter cover

nicechap

Holly_Kipper wrote: »

Last spring I was treated unfairly by a company I had dedicated 39 years of my life to which lead me to have a breakdown and resign from my post. At the time my family seeked legal advice via our house insurance, we took it further with the company who then offered me my job back which meant I no longer stood a chance of taking it any further as they offered me the same employment. I decided not to return to the company for the way they treated me, I have managed to pick myself up and move on with my life enjoying time with my family working a normal 9-5 I’m in-Fri job.
Anyway... this week I have noticed the company have used a picture of myself on FRONT cover of their winter magazine? Is this legal? I no longer work for them, and they haven’t asked my permission.

This all may sound a little strange, however I wish to have no association with the company after how they treat their staff.

Many Thanks.

Holly_Kipper wrote: »

I actually left the job due to been forced to resign which now I actually believe is due to them wanting to get away with redundancy pay.
I am just shocked that they have the cheek to use a photo on myself.
The photo is from two years ago where I won an award for fundraising.
Yes okay many thanks for your advice I think I will go ahead and write to the company stating I do not wish to be associated with them and for them not publish anything again, I will also put into writing again for them to take me off the alarm system which I still continue to have calls for!

Happy New Year All

You need to establish who owns copyright of the photo. Is it the photographer at the awards ceremony, the awarding body who might have employed the photographer or your ex-company who bought the photo off the photographer. As James suggests, did you consent to the photo being taken - either as part of the entry requirements for the awards, or by the photographer on the night?

Whilst I sense you still have resentments to your ex-company, I'm guessing its a decent photo if its on the cover, and shows you in a good light and could be used to inspire others?

A polite request asking for it not to be used again is probably your best bet as I doubt you are up for a legal fight given you resigned when offered your job back. They are unlikley to use the same photo again in any case.

You don't say how you came by a copy of the magazine, if its sent to you, maybe cancel the subscription to avoid similar feelings in the future.

Comms69

Holly_Kipper wrote: »

Last spring I was treated unfairly by a company I had dedicated 39 years of my life to which lead me to have a breakdown and resign from my post. - unfortunately that would have meant you could not claim constructive dismissal - you need to go through internal grievance first. At the time my family seeked legal advice via our house insurance, we took it further with the company who then offered me my job back which meant I no longer stood a chance of taking it any further as they offered me the same employment. - offering re-employment, doesn't mean a claim would not succeed. I decided not to return to the company for the way they treated me, I have managed to pick myself up and move on with my life enjoying time with my family working a normal 9-5 I’m in-Fri job.
Anyway... this week I have noticed the company have used a picture of myself on FRONT cover of their winter magazine? Is this legal? I no longer work for them, and they haven’t asked my permission. - Yes. This is legal. At some point a picture was taken of you, the company owns that picture.

This all may sound a little strange, however I wish to have no association with the company after how they treat their staff.

Many Thanks.

Not a lot you can do now, but if you request they no longer use that photo, they will probably accommodate you.

Comms69

James1968 wrote: »

If the photo was taken by your previous employers whilst you were accepting the award at an awards ceremony, all you can do is request that they cease using your image.

However, if your former employer asked you to pose for the photo, they must ask your permission to use it for publicity purposes. - that is not true. Failure to do this leaves them open to a claim for a fee for the use of the photo. - it's their photo. they do not need to pay a fee. The subject of a photo is of no consequence.

Speaking as a semi-pro photographer - in which case you should really do some research into the law... , even 'taken in the street' images may require release forms to be signed if the image is to be used for promotional purposes - absolute nonsense and any of the people in the image can be recognised.

Try again, this time after doing some research

JReacher1

I think you need to let your resentment of your previous employer go.

You left and have moved on to what sounds like a better job. Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things that they have your photo on the front of their winter company magazine?

I doubt they will reuse it again so I would just ignore it completely

TBagpuss

James1968 wrote: »

If the photo was taken by your previous employers whilst you were accepting the award at an awards ceremony, all you can do is request that they cease using your image.

However, if your former employer asked you to pose for the photo, they must ask your permission to use it for publicity purposes. Failure to do this leaves them open to a claim for a fee for the use of the photo.

Speaking as a semi-pro photographer, even 'taken in the street' images may require release forms to be signed if the image is to be used for promotional purposes and any of the people in the image can be recognised.

I am not sure that this is correct, if the photo was taken as part of and in the context of your employment. .
I would however agree that the best thing to do is to write and ask that they don't use this image, or other images of you, in future.

It's possible that photo of you would be classed as personal data and you could ask for them to be removed from the company's records under data protection rules, but the 'right to be forgotten' isn't an absolute right and you would need to do some research to see if it would be likely to apply in your case. However, I'd start with a polite request and take it from there!