I have recently had a few issues with a work colleague and recently arranged to discuss these issues with them in my office. On a whim i decided to record the converstaion on my phone, without telling him. As we finished the discussion, they asked whether or not the conversation had been recorded. I said “no”. Mainly to buy myself time. I understand that before i let a 3rd party listen to the recording, i need to let this fella know. Does anyone know the legalities around such an issue?

As far as I’m aware, you have to let them know in advance.

I have recorded someone at work, without their knowledge.
It was the wrong thing to do, but I was alone and being threatened.

For a general work conversation though, you’re really asking for trouble.
You will never, ever be trusted again, by anyone. No matter what they might say.

And it’s not a very nice thing to do unless you really have to.

Does your colleague have trust issues by any chance?

Does anyone know the legalities around such an issue?

No but I’m glad I don’t work with someone as underhand,deceitful and perjerous as you.
Difficult meetings I’ve been in we had a note taker and occasionally recorded it but with the full consent of those present.

muppetWrangler – Member

Does your colleague have trust issues by any chance?

If not, he bloomin should do.

Hmm, I thought you only had to let people know if you were recording phone calls (?)

though recording them could in itself be grounds for harassment, or of you’re their supervisor constructive dismissal (breakdown of trust and confidence)

I’d say make the complaint that you’re going to make based on what was said in the interview, and STFU about the recordings unless you end up in a disciplinary or tribunal and need to use them to defend yourself.

Not a good idea without permission. Keep it in case things get bad.
If future get someone to take notes in the meeting circulated to all/reviewed at the end. Failing that do it yourself and mail then to the others as this was my understanding of the situation/meeting.

Did you record the bit where you said you weren’t recording?

I said “no”.

What was your reason for lying ? ( that you recorded ?? )

IIRC, which I probably don’t. In England you need one persons consent (in this case, yours). In Scotland you need every parties consent.

This was told to me while working in a call centre on Scotland about 10 years ago. I never saw it in writing either, so it could be wrong.

You recorded a conversation without telling anyone you were doing so, and then lied when asked about it.

Good choices fella.

If there was a note taker, and you signed the notes as an accurate record of the meeting, then delete your recording, as you don’t need it anyway.

Doesn’t sound like there was a note-taker.

It’s not illegal to make a recording. Whether there’s a firm policy against it at your workplace I wouldn’t know. Clearly not great practice to do it without consent, and passing that recording to a third party even less so, so hold off on that for now.

If you were actually being threatened during the meeting, tbh you could make a decent case for not disclosing the recording at the time. Though you should be thinking about broaching the issue with HR or senior management now so it can’t be used against you. Again, sharing it with a third party outside the company undermines you.

As we finished the discussion, they asked whether or not the conversation had been recorded.

Sorry, but that’s a weird question to ask cold. Why would they ask that? Is it something you / your company have a habit of doing?

I’m going with troll as none of it makes any sense.

I’d recommend lying about the lying. Good job there isn’t a record anywhere of you admitting to lying…

Transribe the recording onto a document. Send a copy to the other party saying you wrote notes after the meeting on what was said and asking if he agrees it was a true and accurate representation.
Then eat your phone and forget you ever recorded it.

Transribe the recording onto a document. Send a copy to the other party saying you wrote notes after the meeting on what was said and asking if he agrees it was a true and accurate representation.
Then eat your phone and forget you ever recorded it.

This, even if the other party disagrees with the representation

I’m going with bearnecessities (for now anyway…)

If it did happen, it seems a pretty shitty thing to do. As aracer said, it’s a strange question for the other person to have asked. If I was this underhanded, I’d probably not ask the question in a public forum either. So, hmmm, things not adding up for me.

Can I check your transcript, because I don’t think I said that 😉

Oops…that was Cougar. My apologies. 😳

Well, there were some very unhelpful statements there. Why one would jump in with such rude confrontational statements without an understanding of the situation is beyond me. Would you be so quick i real-life.

Other advice has been quite helpful.

Not that i need to,justify it here. But i recorded it becsuse i knew the conversation would be complex and the person would see to distract me with red herrings and straw men and i wanted a record of what was said so I could revisit it and make sure i understood the key points.

The reason i said ‘no’ when asked about it was because i was unsure of what i might be required to do with that recording if i said ‘ yes’ and would not have known my postion if the person had demanded anything as a result. So, i said ‘no’ as it bought me time.

Well, there were some very unhelpful statements there. Why one would jump in with such rude confrontational statements without an understanding of the situation is beyond me…

Well you were the one that came on here and asked for opinions based upon the facts as you presented them!

No, i didn’t ask for opinions.

Charlie, are you only just discovering that there are judgemental pricks on here? Where have you been man?
As far as I know you have done nothing illegal. Roger Cook used to do it, and deny if asked.

I only know from my own experience though, someone recorded me, without telling me, and then tried to use the transcript against me in court. The judge was not interested, and thought the bloke was a wally..

My barrister advised that whilst it is not illegal, it is difficult to get private recordings accepted as “evidence” because the facts of who was speaking and whether or not the recording has been doctored are so difficult to prove. In criminal cases the cops use approved procedures – RIPA etc..
So I would not worry too much, and it might be useful as a stick to beat the other dude with if necessary..

Thanks Toys! That is some comfort. I had no intention of submitting it as evidence in court. Even for a third party, I was very cautious.

But i recorded it becsuse i knew the conversation would be complex and the person would see to distract me with red herrings and straw men

You have caught them wasting company time on STW ….so many suspects so many

As for recording no idea but do the transcript bit

PS I reckon they asked as they recorded it did you ask them if they had recorded it?

No. I didn’t ask them. I was kind of taken aback. It was only something I did as a last minute whim. It was a very unusual thing to do. So I was very surprised that he thought it was something I might have done. Normally it would not even have crossed my mind. I could ask him if he recorded it. But I don’t even know what I would do if he said ‘yes’