Discrimination, Confidentiality and Defamation of Character by Employer

[Soothmooth]

Good morning all and thank you for any help in advance, ill tell the whole story and i would like some advice on it if possible as to what to do next.
My employer asked me to do a Medical because of my age (Over retirement age) which is not in my contract so i opened up a discrimination case based on age towards them, this made them look for any means necessary to find me doing something wrong, they picked up on my taking 1 hour off, i initially agreed i was going to see a doctor just to appease them and then i admitted a couple of days later it was to go and see a Lawyer regarding the discrimination case, in the time that followed they then suspended me for the duration of the investigation in to me taking time off, all my co employees were taken in an told i was suspended by the site manager, but where they made a mistake was they didn't only tell them i was suspended but also told them the details of the suspension, everyone knew that i was suspended for telling a lie and for not going to the doctors when i said i was, basically branded a liar before any investigation took place, this has made me take time off work, has affected my health and has had detrimental effects in my community, can i go to court with the above for compensation? they have admitted the full breach of confidentiality in writing so i have the proof there in black and white.
thanks again

[jay69477]

Re: Discrimination, Confidentiality and Defamation of Character by Employer

If you lied and admitted you lied I suspect they can discipline you for it, irrespective of the reason I suspect they will say that you have damaged the trust they had in you.

I know from my own experience that discrimination is really hard to prove, you may find it harder if they find you were not entirely honest re your 1 hour off.

Not sure about your discrminiation situation, it looks iffy but I am sure someone with more knowledge on that will come along and advise you

A few quick questions I can see that would help the qualified people help you are

"I opened up a discrimination case against them" - DOES THIS MEAN YOU SUBMITTED A FORMAL GRIEVANCE OF DISCRIMINATION TO YOUR EMPLOYER
That could be quite important as if you had already submitted it before the disciplinary process started the Equality Act 2010 should offer you some protection.

You then say, they "picked up on you taking 1 hour off" did they invite you to a properly structured disciplinary hearing?

You admitted that you had fibbed about the meeting, where when and how did this happen, in an investigation or disciplinary meeting or in passing or a spur of the moment conversation.

How long have you worked there for?

What was the employers motive for reffering you to occupational health provider, if it was to prove you are (with the greatest of respect) too old for the task or they could spin it to say it was a positive step i.e. they wanted to know if they could support you moving on in your employment.

I think you would have a lot of dots to join before you could say that any dismissal here would actually be age discrimination, although as I said above I am no expert, I am just a idiot who finds himself in a situation not so different from your own.

[Soothmooth]

Re: Discrimination, Confidentiality and Defamation of Character by Employer

in reply to the questions above
I submitted a formal greivance before the disciplinary process even began, they only started the disciplinary process after trying to find a way to catch me out which i gave them by taking an hour off stupidly.
they did invite me to a formal disciplinary meeting, suspended me and then the confidential information was released to the workforce which has caused the distress, the disciplinary process is now complete, i have had a final written warning but do not want to go back to a workplace where i have been branded a liar by management and my disciplinary investigation has been made public before the investigation took place, thus defaming my character as far as i understand it.
i have worked there for more than 12 years.
so my ultimate question is can i sue for defamation of character, breach of the data protection act and the initial discrimination which was only due to my age and not in any contract or any amen

[jay69477]

Re: Discrimination, Confidentiality and Defamation of Character by Employer

ok that prob a bit clearer, but above my level of knowledge so wait and hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge of this will come along

[Openlaw15]

Re: Discrimination, Confidentiality and Defamation of Character by Employer

Good morning all and thank you for any help in advance, ill tell the whole story and i would like some advice on it if possible as to what to do next.
My employer asked me to do a Medical because of my age (Over retirement age) which is not in my contract so i opened up a discrimination case based on age towards them, this made them look for any means necessary to find me doing something wrong, they picked up on my taking 1 hour off, i initially agreed i was going to see a doctor just to appease them and then i admitted a couple of days later it was to go and see a Lawyer regarding the discrimination case, in the time that followed they then suspended me for the duration of the investigation in to me taking time off, all my co employees were taken in an told i was suspended by the site manager, but where they made a mistake was they didn't only tell them i was suspended but also told them the details of the suspension, everyone knew that i was suspended for telling a lie and for not going to the doctors when i said i was, basically branded a liar before any investigation took place, this has made me take time off work, has affected my health and has had detrimental effects in my community, can i go to court with the above for compensation? they have admitted the full breach of confidentiality in writing so i have the proof there in black and white.
thanks again

Well the problem you have in my view is that a potential employee over retirement age could well have developed many medical problems. It also depends on the job type, did the job involve driving for example? My question were all person around 60 asked to go for medicals or just you? How many employees in the company are there? It seems rather harsh to suspend someone for initially planning to see a doctor then instead seeing a lawyer as to their legal position. Can you prove the real reason was linked to your discrimination case? I think what your employer did was unreasonable conduct in inviting all the employees into tell them the reasons why your were suspended by your site manager. Incidentally, taken in where, was this a room? Is it normal to invite employees into a room to tell the other who is being suspended and who is not? Was there a confidentiality clause in your contract or in the terms and conditions by way of the company's policy? Are you still in suspension? What does your company's policy state by way of conduct and gross misconduct? Is it normal policy for the company to suspend someone for either telling a lie or omitting the truth just because they wanted to ascertain their legal position. My view is it would be absurd to suspend someone for this. I'll reserve commenting on the data protection issue you raise.

Defamation is all together different.