New human rights law comes into force in the UK

This is because the Act places a duty on both courts and tribunals to interpret and develop the law in accordance with the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights. Therefore, an employment tribunal will be obliged to consider whether evidence of gross misconduct gathered via the use of CCTV is in breach of the Convention’s right to privacy when deciding, for example, if an employer has acted fairly in dismissing an employee.

The ECHR comprises a series of Articles, each affording protection of a particular right. The most important rights for employers to be aware of are:

• the right to a fair trial (Article 6);
• the right to respect private and family life, home and correspondence (Article 8);
• freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9);
• freedom of expression (Article 10); and
• freedom of assembly (Article 11).

The extent to which the Act will impact upon private sector employment is a matter of some debate. However, it is clear that an employer will have to have an eye to his employees’ rights under the Act whenever rights and freedoms of his employees are being interfered with.

In the light of the Act, employers should particularly:

• review their email and telephone policies, ensuring where appropriate that employees are aware of any screening measures that are in place;
• consider their disciplinary and grievance procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of a fair hearing;
• examine any contractual right to insist on medical reports to ensure they do not infringe Article 8;
• reassess their use of the security checks (including the use of CCTV);
• scrutinise their treatment of minority religious groups, in particular any enforced dress codes and their worker’s rights to observe religious holidays; and
• prepare for the possible removal of restrictions on secondary picketing, and the formation of non-unionised groups of workers to act as negotiation bodies with the employer.

An OUT-LAW Article will appear soon, explaining the implications of this law and other new laws for employers.