Human rights/dismissal rights

Case 1: The facts

A man who worked with vulnerable young people was dismissed because he failed to inform his employer of a formal police caution he had received after being found having sex in a public place.

The ruling

The Court of Appeal held that the employee could not rely on his right to privacy under the European Convention and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), because the incident had taken place in a public place.

Although you can only bring a claim directly under human rights law if you work in the public sector, the court stated that a tribunal must, as far as possible, apply unfair dismissal legislation in a way that is compatible with Convention rights. It set down the following guidelines for tribunals:

1. Do the circumstances of the dismissal fall within the ambit of a Convention right? 2. If they do, does the state have a positive obligation to secure enjoyment of the relevant Convention right between private persons? 3. If it does, is interference with the Convention right by dismissal justified? 4. If it does not, was there a permissible reason for dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996?

X v Y Case No: A1/2003/1425