We have succeeded in a video voyeurism compensation claim
We were contacted by ‘E’ who was struggling to know what to do about a situation she had at work.
She had been employed in the office of a large builders’ merchants. One day as she was using the toilet facilities, she noticed something strange in a pack of toilet rolls. She investigated and discovered that it was a video camera and she had been recorded using the toilet.
She was understandably shocked and felt humiliated. She reported what had happened to her manager. It transpired that another manager had placed the video camera in the toilet for the purposes of recording his colleagues, some of whom he believed were engaged in a sexual relationship.
Despite our client asking her manager not to watch the video before it was handed to the police as it would contain footage of her going to the toilet, he did watch it, compounding her feelings of humiliation.
An investigation followed and the police were involved. Over the course of the investigation our client discovered that not only her manager but other people at her place of work had also watched the video.
She felt so embarrassed and humiliated that she arranged to work at a different branch, significantly adding to her commuting time and costs.
Nevertheless, her feelings of anxiety and nervousness continued. She struggled to use any toilet outside her own house and was plagued by feelings of shame. These feelings persisted for over a year and a half, despite counselling, and in desperation she called our free legal helpline for guidance.
She discussed what had happened with specialist abuse lawyer Elizabeth Duncan. Elizabeth advised that the employer should be held legally accountable for the acts of the employee who had placed the device in the toilet as well as the other employees who had unnecessarily viewed the footage. We agreed to represent E in bringing a video voyeurism compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
Elizabeth sent a formal Letter of Claim to E’s employers, setting out why they were at fault and the impact these events had had on E. The employer denied they were at fault, saying that although the man who had placed the video camera was at work and “on work time” when he did it, he was not acting in the course of his employment and therefore they were not responsible.
Elizabeth did not accept this argument and pressed on with issuing court proceedings against the company. Happily, this step persuaded the employer to adopt a more sensible approach to the case and soon after a financial settlement was negotiated out of court.
E was incredibly pleased to have resolved this matter, saying she had found it healing to go through the legal process and now felt able to move on with her life.
If you are looking for experienced solicitors to deal with your video voyeurism compensation claim, then contact us for a free initial chat about how we can help you. Call us on 0333 888 0404 or email [email protected]
