I read this excellent article by Michael Scutt on the Law Donut Blog about Employees secretly recording disciplinary meetings held by their employers. The article raises some great points which are addressed and answered by a Barrister (Ian Mann, barrister of 13 King’s Bench Walk, Temple).

The question is posed from the employer’s perspective and asks whether during a disciplinary hearing is it lawful for an employee to covertly tape record the meeting. I get enquiries such as this from potential clients on a regular basis so it is excellent to have an answer from a true legal perspective from which we can draw. The advice given by Ian Martin is clear and succinct and is worth having a look at and taking on board.

The part of the article which interests me greatly is the suggestion that instead of ‘pussy footing’ around with ‘secret squirrel’ type covert tape recording why not do it openly and properly and introduce a proper protocol for openly recording such meetings. It is an excellent way of showing that everything is done properly and above board and is fair to all parties concerned. It would certainly cut down on the amount of allegations of improprieties at such meetings.

I have carried out countless interviews with criminal suspects over the years; from the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 all Police interviews with suspects had to be openly tape recorded and the format of the interview had to be carried out to a strict protocol ensuring uniformity throughout all Police interviews of suspects.

The recording equipment we used was a Home Office approved double tape-deck recorder. Two simultaneous recordings are made; one is sealed and only opened by order of the court and the other is an exact copy used as the working copy from which other copies can be made and typed transcripts can be formulated. These days there is a variety of excellent digital recording equipment out there that can record to a CD etc therefore rendering cassette tapes, like the ones we used to use, obsolete. An approved digital deck can be obtained from £1500 (ClearView Communications).

To setup a recorded interview system would be straight forward enough but it would be advisable to have lawyers on board in the drafting of the protocols to ensure that they would stand up to legal scrutiny and therefore be acceptable at a tribunal and any court case that may ultimately transpire. Moreover, having trained interviewers as part of an HR department would be the desirable way to go.

Related Articles

• Can my employees secretly tape a meeting with me?
• Covert recordings of Disciplinary Meetings with an Employer