I sent a pre-litigation letter of claim to my former employers along with acopy of the defamation protocol and it does seem to have now at least encouragedthem to take this matter seriously. Although they have now investigated and responded to my complaint,they are now saying that they are not liable for the emails sent (there areover 50 emails trying either trying to get me sacked or attempting to underminemy work). All of these emails have been sent from my former employer’s companyemail (there was also a meeting which took place at my former company premises with my line manager) and I am keen to rebut their denials of liability with a robust legalargument. I might be wrong but I am confident that they are on the back foot here. Theypreviously refused to investigate my complaint but the threat of court actionhas persuaded them to reverse that particular decision. I feel that my next response to them is critical. I want to make it clear tothem that their argument will not stand up in court. Any help would be muchappreciated. TN

Hi, I'm concerned about an item written into the pre-litigation protocolwhich I’m looking to enter into with my former employers. The defamatory emailswhich they have sent about me were sent in 2010. I've attached an excerpt fromthe document which indicates that defamation cases must be brought within ayear of the offenses being committed. I should point out that I only learnt ofthe defamation a few months ago (following my SAR). Can someone advise if I canstill go ahead with my pre-litigation despite item 1.4 (below)? Another optioncould be to go down the harassment route. My former employers have sent over100 emails (many of them quite recently) to my current employers. Is thereanother pre-litigation template I could use? Thanks, TN 1.4 There are important features which distinguish defamation claims from other areas of civil litigation, and these must be borne in mind when both applying, and reviewing the application of, the Pre-Action Protocol. In particular, time is always ‘of the essence’ in defamation claims; the limitation period is (uniquely) only 1 year, and almost invariably, a Claimant will be seeking an immediate correction and/or apology as part of the process of restoring his/her reputation

Hi I'm afraid i can't really afford a solicitor. Would you advise that I move on the pre-litigation-protocol first in order to see if they're prepared to make a settlement? Thanks, Terry

Hi Having waited for the subject access request from my former employers before submitting a formal complaint to them, they have just responded to say that as mu complaint relates to my previous employment with the company and i am no longer an employee they will not be investigating it. My complaint clearly relates to their treatment of me since I left the company (over 100 pieces of correspondence have been sent to my current employers in a bid to first of all try and prevent me from being employed and there on in, to undermine my performance whilst I was employed). Despite their response, I am now ready to issue the "pre-action-protocall" in a bid to reach a settlement but I'd appreciate some advice 1st. Are my former employers legally liable for the mistreatment I've suffered. I am sure that they will argue that any mistreatment I have suffered has been at the hands of a rogue employee abusing company resource and that they are not liable. I would argue that their failure to investigate my complaint, failure to apologize and failure to guarantee that I will no longer be subjected to this behavior, makes them complicit and they have failed in their duty of care towards me. As of yet they have indicated no wrong-doing whatsoever on anyone's part (even on the part of the employee in question). I would also appreciate some advice on how much to claim for in my pre-action-protocall (if anything). What I really want is for them to correct the damage they've done to my reputation, provide an agreed employers reference which relates to my actual performance and to offer a guarantee that I won't be subjected to this treatment again. If anyone has any any advice it would be greatly appreciated (please remember that I live in Scotland and any proceedings will be subject to Scottish law) Regards, Terry

Does anyone have any advice regarding how I should proceed with thing once I receive the SAR info. I am definitely going submit an official complaint to my former employers and I also feel that I am due compensation from them as I this whole process has been a nightmare for me Should I threaten legal action in my complaint? Should I ask them to offer an of out of court settlement? How much should I ask for?

No they didn't

Today I received notification from my former employers that they were dealing with my complaint and they assigned an "HR Officer" to my case. They've said that the case officer will be in touch with me this week and I looking for some advice regarding what to say. Ultimately this is only a SAR at this stage but I am keen to take a hard line with them to demonstrate that this is a very serious matter and that I mean business. What arguments can I put to them in order clarify my stance at a very early stage. Also, what is the likelihood of them offering an out of court settlement and how does one calculate a settlement figure.

In one of the early emails, correspondence has been sent from my former employer's work email which makes false representation of my work ethic and performance during my time in employment with my former employers. The email was sent to my current board of directors in an apparent bid to hi-light concerns about my appointment to my new post. Having read the email, I'm confident that I can threaten my former employers with defamation. Is there any avenue available to them whereby they could deny liability for this (and all other) correspondence.

Can someone please explain "vicarious liability" to me? As I mentioned above, this campaign against me has been carried out entirely from within the company I formerly worked for. I'm thinking that if I receive any indication from my former employers that they are looking to dismiss this campaign against me as the actions of a rogue individual, then I'm unwilling to accept this as valid explanation nor am I willing to accept that they'll make sure it doesn't happen again. When i raised a grievance against my former line manager, not only was the grievance upheld but sufficient concerns were raised regarding my line manager's conduct, attendance and integrity which indicated that this individual required close monitoring and it was entirely reasonable to question whether or not he was fit and proper to remain in a managerial post. It is my understanding the recommendations put forward by my former employers following the grievance process (he was to receive managerial training on how to behave like a human being) have never been delivered and it is as a result of my former employer's complete failure to control a known troublesome employee which has resulted in the continuation of the harassment campaign against me. Is this a competent approach to take?

Thanks, Re the altercation: Any time he sees me in public, he makes efforts to approach me. It's normally a brief exchange and I tell him that I don't keep with people like him and that he should GTF (if he approaches me in a professional capacity I always show him every courtesy). This always results in an email to my boss reporting the "incident" to my emloyers citing that it's not befitting of someone in my position (a community worker) to treat him in this manner. (There has never been any witnesses to the few brief altercations we've had outside work and the worst I've ever done is use bad language towards him whilst telling him not to approach me) I have never ever approached him outwith work and I have never ever behaved in a threatening manner or in any other way towards him which is in any way worthy of police intervention. Ultimately I suppose I've always known that he'd never stop and that it was always going to end up with some kind of legal action being taken up against him or his employers so I've always been careful + I'm not a thug!

Thank you for the prompt responses. I'm afraid I'm past wanting this to stop. I'm aggrieved that my former employers never dealt with this guy properly when the facts were put before them during my grievance. I now work in a temporary post with a contract that expires next year. I want them to at least provide me with an offer of compensation

Thanks for the response. Regarding how I know about the emails. To be fair to my current employers, they've had they've been very supportive in dealing with this character, which is why the chair of the board reads out every piece of correspondence he receives from him criticizing my performance. Although I do not yet possess any copies of this individual's emails, this will change shortly due to the SAR I've already submitted.

I currently work in Scotland as a paid Community Development Officer although the board of directors who employ me are all volunteers. Prior to taking up this post I led a busy administration team for a private sector company before I left the firm having accepted a compromise agreement arranged by my former line manager. I should also point out that I previously raised a grievance process against my line manager and although my complaint was upheld, there was ultimately no change in his behavior and I reluctantly tendered my resignation at a later date. Since leaving the private sector and taking up post as a Community Worker, my former line manager has continued his vendetta campaign against me in an apparent bid to ensure that I am not allowed to prosper. It has come to my knowledge that in his capacity as a director of the company I now work for (I knew this individual was on the board of directors prior to applying for the job), he made efforts to stop me from being recruited by my current emplyers. Despite his recommendations to the board, I was successful in my application and my former line manager had to resort to an email campaign against me in which he continually questioned my work performance during my 3 month probationary period. He later resigned from the board of directors when I successfully completed my 3 month probation period citing that he would not remain as a voluntary board member if I was to be employed full time. Despite resigning from the board he quickly resumed his vendetta campaign last year following an altercation between he and I which took place outwith the workplace. The quantity of emails relating to my conduct and performance which have been sent by this individual is nothing short of staggering. Many of the allegations made against me are entirely false and there are many instances where he has made defamatory comments against me. His campaign against me has been carried-out within company time using my former employers premises, their equipment and their email address (even once using their conference room in during office hours to conduct a meeting with the chair of the board of directors in order to discuss my conduct and performance). Although I do not currently possess any hard copies or electronic copies of the emails in question (there are approximately 30 emails), I have been allowed to read most of them as my line manager continues to keep me informed of his failed efforts to bring this regrettable matter to a close. Under the Data Protection Act, I have now requested a copy of all correspondence written about me which has come from this individual. This request has been submitted to both my employers and my former line manager's current employers (all emails have been sent using the company's email). I have made every effort to ignore this character but he just refuses to go away and I now want to take action. Does anyone have any advice? Should I pursue a claim against the individual or my former employers and what grounds do i have for a claim?