Hi all

I need some help if you can?

My employer has taken some photographs of me which are particularly shocking. :mad: I do not want them to use them, and i would prefer if they were destroyed. Do i have a legal leg to stand on to force them to get rid of them if they dont repsond to my polite request?

did they take them without your consent?

Originally posted by Avalon
Hi all

I need some help if you can?

My employer has taken some photographs of me which are particularly shocking. :mad: I do not want them to use them, and i would prefer if they were destroyed. Do i have a legal leg to stand on to force them to get rid of them if they dont repsond to my polite request?

What do the photos show????

Not really. It was a group photograph session,and the photographer did close ups of everyone. But as i hate having my photo taken, i didn't smile, so the photogrpaher kept snapping, and there are photos with me and all sorts of silly faces: biting my lips etc...they do look bad, and im frightened that they are going to be used at my expense for a laugh or maybee worse? :mad:

It sounds like you probably gave consent to be photographed though.

Using the photographs for any purpose other than whatever they were taken for might be grounds for legal action...
I'd try the ask nicely approach first as i don't think you've got a strong case for forcing them to destroy them.

IANAL.

They were originally taken as shots just to go on the office wall, but now they are thinking of using them for publicity purposes. While i doubt that they would use them for publicity i wouldnt put it past them having a good laugh at them, with other people. If i can prove this to be the case could this be classed as deffamation or even slander?

definitely not slander. It's not something that they are saying, and it's not untrue.
Defamation would relate to your character, so i doubt it's that either.

You'd have to give your permission for them to be used for publicity I think.

hmmm....perhaps if I burned down the office that would work?

Thanks for your advice anyway...it will stop me looking like a prat!

A =)

why pull funny faces then ? :S

you brought this on yourself.. although its a bit petty dont you think ?

I understand that you can take still photographs of people and use them without permission, as long as they are not invasive and against their privacy.
And this has recently been made clear in law as something to do with a long lens shot of the subject person in a private place. To stop the pap taking long shots of celebs, when they're topless on the beach.

If you take moving pics of people that is quite different, you have always legally had to ask permission first. Until recently even cctv cameras had to have notices announcing that the premises were recording from their security cameras, but that has been revoked, because of the sheer volume of cams in public places.

In addition, if you have a contract of employment, there is probably a clause where you have to allow your employer the soul right to use any thing you produce, and it wouldn't surprise me if this includes the images of your face.

You also have a right under employment law not to be caused undue distress.

Best tip might be to go totally over the top about how you would feel.

Employment Tribunals are messy things for employers. ;)

Originally posted by Tony
You also have a right under employment law not to be caused undue distress.

Best tip might be to go totally over the top about how you would feel.

Employment Tribunals are messy things for employers. ;)

I'll second this! No manager would risk their ass!

K x

hi i'm a union officer (for my sins) if the photos are used to belittle you in any way you have a case for a grievance, by law who you work for must have a H.R rep on site to deal with this also if comments etc are made its a good idea to keep a diary of verbatim (sic) comments times, dates etc.

However why dont you just talk to your manager and explain how you feel if you dont like having your photo taken they may delete all photos or give you the chance to have some more flattering ones taken.

Originally posted by danum
hi i'm a union officer (for my sins) if the photos are used to belittle you in any way you have a case for a grievance, by law who you work for must have a H.R rep on site to deal with this also if comments etc are made its a good idea to keep a diary of verbatim (sic) comments times, dates etc.

However why dont you just talk to your manager and explain how you feel if you dont like having your photo taken they may delete all photos or give you the chance to have some more flattering ones taken.

I offered to give my manager 5 or 6 different photogrpahs of me but he refused and took another one..also shocking. If i soeak to him he will think im being silly...he doesnt think much of me already...

ok so keep the diary, your employer has a legal obligation to make sure you are free from harrassment of any kind. include anybody in the diary who has overheard or made any comments etc, unfortunately I come across this a lot and this is your best option. Good luck and keep us posted x

interestingly i was asked to have my pic taken today on a digital camera at work for my employer, i declined and said i would bring my own pic in later after making sure it was the correct size etc. No one could tell me for sure exactly what the pictures were for and i really don`t want to have it done,i hate having my picture taken.

If you are this upset then write a formal letter saying you do not wish them to use the photographs. If you want to get more serious then say you have taken legal advice, although thats double edged for making you look even more silly. You did bring this on yourself though and everyone will know anyway.

If the photo`s were going to be used for say a personal file for example and they were going to be kept securely then it wouldn`t be that much of a problem, it`s the fact that they are probably going to be accessable to lots of people and we haven`t been told why exactly they are needed. Any questions asked get replied to in a roundabout way and no proper answer is given at all, i have asked for the reason a few times and still haven`t been told exactly why.