Private and Confidential Letters

usher1890

If you address and sent a letter clearly marked private and confidential on the envelope and letter to an employer, and they show the letter to people, where does this stand legally, both in terms of breaching your confidence and the contents of the letter being used against you

Victor

It really depends on who they show and I think qualified privilage kicks in. For example, if you were suing them for wrongful dismissal, they would likely be entitled to show their HR manager and their solicitor, but probably couldn't post a copy on the staff room notice board.

usher1890

it was a grievence issue about a member of staff, whom was then shown it

Tom Young

All circumstantial.

Jo King

If the letter was a letter of compalint, the person complained of would have the right to see it. Fair procedures would require that they are made aware of the allegations against them and have an opportunity to respond. Their rights to fair procedures would trump any issue of confidentiality of the complainant.

jimoc

I was always under the impression that a letter marked Private and Confidential was only to be opened by the addressee and that how they wish to deal with the contents is then up to them?

So if someone else opens the letter before the addresse then its a breach of confidentiality, but if they show it to someone after its opened then its not a breach

Our man in Havana

Don't have private letters sent to your workplace. Simples.

Miaireland

jimoc wrote: »

I was always under the impression that a letter marked Private and Confidential was only to be opened by the addressee and that how they wish to deal with the contents is then up to them?

So if someone else opens the letter before the addresse then its a breach of confidentiality, but if they show it to someone after its opened then its not a breach

I thought that too. To be honest it is not something I have ever given much thought too.

Reloc8

usher1890 wrote: »

it was a grievence issue about a member of staff, whom was then shown it

there's no problem there. Just as a complaint to the employer is covered by qualified privilege (the person receiving the information has a genuine interest in doing so therefore in the absence of malice the employee could not sue for defamation) so is showing or communicating the fact of the complaint to the employee equally covered - that person has a genuine interest in doing so .

Showing it gratuitously around the houses would leave the person doing so open to defamation action by the person the subject of the complaint and in a notional way perhaps open to action under the European Convention on Human Rights by the author of the letter. But I really and truly would not go there.

Just because something is marked 'private and confidential' doesn't mean it is in fact private or obliged to be treated confidentially in all circumstances.