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Ask Employment Law |
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Remember: There is no substitute for legal advice on the actual
situation you find yourself in. The information posted on this site is for
general information only, is based on |
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Question: |
Can my employer discipline
me for what I do in my own private time? |
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Answer: |
The
short answer is that your employer may
be able to discipline you for what you do in your private life; if those
activities are incompatible with the position you hold or bring your employer
into disrepute. For
example in Pay v However
in his spare time, Mr Pay ran a company selling bondage, domination and sado-masochism
merchandise online and was involved with a club called 'Club Lash'. He was
dismissed. The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that in unfair dismissal
proceedings where the employer is a public authority, an employment tribunal
must take into account whether there
had been an infringement of the employee's rights under the European Human
Rights Convention and in particular the right to a private life (article 8) Mr
Pay lost. In that case Article 8 of
the ECHR (right to respect for private and family life) was not engaged
because Mr Pay had brought his activities into the public domain through his
website. However
Article 10 of the ECHR (freedom of expression) was relevant but the probation
service's right to uphold its reputation, when balanced against Mr Pay's
right to freedom of expression, meant that dismissal was justified in the
circumstances of this case. See
also our page on fair disciplinary
procedure Last
reviewed: July 2010 |
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Employment
Solicitor Reculver Solicitors Tel
0207 324 6271 Regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ©
Reculver Solicitors. 2005- |
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