Libel / defamatory claim - redress?

A friend received a copy of an email making an allegation against her by a 3rd party contractor in her company some time ago. There had been 1 situation where there had been some tension, this was a number of months ago so she was surprised when this came to the attention of her boss this week.

While the boss did not make a big deal about the matter, she is concerned that the person making the complaint cc'd a number of people including her own boss and the Legal department within her company.

She was fortunate that, in the incident referred to above, she actually had 2 witnesses and believes that they will verify her account of what happened (or didn't happen as the case may be).

She has formally asked that the person making the allegation substantiate the allegation, or withdraw them with an apology but has as yet received no response. She is concerned that such allegations could be damaging (she is a manager) or could even lead to disciplinary action given that the Legal Dept have been copied on this communication.

Should she be seeking legal respresentation on this matter?

Any advice would be appreciated
Roger

rogeroleary said:

Should she be seeking legal respresentation on this matter?

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Based on what you have said, and presuming it is not a trivial allegation, then yes.

It really depends on what she wants.

It seems to me that she is taking the correct approach. Seeking a retraction and apology.

If she does not receive that, then she should make a formal complaint with her empoyer about the contractor.

This seems to me to be primarily a staff issue, rather than a legal issue. You should resort to legal advice as a last resort.

Brendan

Thanks Brendan, all she wants is a retraction and apology. I suppose the question is what happens if the contractor refuses to do this. And her concern is that this is not on the record and cc'd to several people in the larger organisation so as they say "muck sticks".

Roger

onekeano said:

Thanks Brendan, all she wants is a retraction and apology. I suppose the question is what happens if the contractor refuses to do this. And her concern is that this is not on the record and cc'd to several people in the larger organisation so as they say "muck sticks".

Roger

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You can't make an allegation in an e-mail like that and claim that it is "off the record". The e-mail is proof of publication of the comment. Step one in defamation.