Discrimination proof

docentore

Hi all, I have a question.

I feel that one of my managers is discriminating me on the grounds of nationality. It is a long story, there were more incidents in the past...

I was wondering If I recorded him during our conversation ( he would not be aware of this) Could I use it as an evidence If there was a case against him in the future?
How strong this proof could be?

IsThatSo?

I am unsure of the legal position on this, but I expect you cannot record someone without their permission (think of all those phone recordings that advise you that "your call may be recorded for quality or training purposes").

That aside, if you did record a conversation and brought it to your HR dept I do think that one conversation would not be enough and that in the long run you would be doing yourself more harm than good.

A better approach would be to try and have a trusted colleague nearby for any discussions you had with this person, who would be discreetly witnessing the goings on. Then record said conversations in writing, checking with your colleague that its an accurate record. Then you have it all recorded and a witness to back you up should you ever wish to take this further.

Its an unpleasant situation, I hope you get some resolution

Jo King

The way to use your recordings is to write the content down immediately. You can say you made contemporaneous notes with the recordings as backup.

IsThatSo?

Jo King wrote: »

The way to use your recordings is to write the content down immediately. You can say you made contemporaneous notes with the recordings as backup.

Thats a good idea Then your recordings were to ensure that you got your facts straight and were fair rather than to "get" yer man.

Nody

IsThatSo? wrote: »

That aside, if you did record a conversation and brought it to your HR dept I do think that one conversation would not be enough and that in the long run you would be doing yourself more harm than good.

Do nothing? Try the following which was brought to HR with out action:

1) 10 min video of the on duty manager sleeping at his desk (inc. snoring)
2) 200 days worth of photos with date and time AND the days newspaper showing the date taken of him sleeping
3) 3 months of CCTV showing him sleeping
4) Very limited amount of the work suppose to be done by the manager over night actually done (inc. monitoring critical customer systems and escalation handling)

HRs response? Have a word with him but we can't take disciplinary actions.

IsThatSo?

Nope, I did not say do nothing

One conversation would not be seen as a pattern, therefore OP would have to have several conversations recorded. Bringing just one would be pointless, and maybe do OP more harm than good in the long run, as in her rep might be tarnished, might be seen as petty etc. Better to take time and do this properly, over a period of time with proper notes and witnesses.

Regarding your situation, you seem to have done all you can. If something goes wrong because of this behaviour then you have reported it previously and its now the companys' responsibility. It is very unfair though that someone could get away with this, be paid for it, while others work their a$$ off

Gurgle

docentore wrote: »

I was wondering If I recorded him during our conversation

Dodgy, recording someone without their consent is a legal mess.

Better to keep a diary, note what he says and when and who else was there at the time.

When you have enough to call it a pattern, bring it to HR.

seamus

docentore wrote: »

Could I use it as an evidence If there was a case against him in the future?
How strong this proof could be?

If you tried to use it as evidence in a legal case, you would be strung up by your short and curlies by a solicitor/barrister. They would basically show that because you knew the conversation was being recorded, you deliberately lead him on into saying things which he would not have ordinarily said. Then you'd be the guy in trouble.
That's if it was even allowed as evidence, and I suspect it wouldn't.

As others have said - keep a diary near your desk or wherever. Whenever he has a conversation with you, write it down immediately with the date and time. If you have a co-worker who is aware of the issue and is willing to help, then ask them to witness and date any conversations which they were present for.
However, don't ask your colleagues to do this without discussing your plan first - looking for support from other colleagues could easily backfire.

docentore

thanks all for your help. I think I will leave it for the moment, but I loaded recording sw onto my phone just in case.