In a recent article on the Employment Law Worldview blog we looked at how a workplace grievance can lead to a defamation claim. The judgment, whilst primarily concerned with whether such a claim could be brought in the first place, also pondered the issues around raising a qualified privilege defence in such circumstances.
This is a key issue for HR professionals to consider, not just in dealing with internal grievances but also, for example, when making a report to the FCA about non-financial misconduct. Such misconduct, and particularly whether or not it should be reported to the FCA and in what terms, is a complex area, which is why our UK Labour and Employment team is sharing a series of blogs and videos to address those concerns. Similar issues arise in any circumstances where employers are under duties to report, e.g. certain parts of the education, sports, medical and legal professions.
This blog, however, considers the issue of what might happen if a report of misconduct to the FCA turns out not to be true. Does that leave the person complained about with a claim for libel against either his employer for reporting the matter to the FCA and/or against the employee who reported that conduct to the employer in the first place?