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ArticlesData Theft - 'Recent high profile cases highlight the need for action' says agency owner
Two recent High Court cases have highlighted the growing concern of intellectual property theft within the recruitment industry. RECRUITMENT INTERNATIONAL -JANUARY 2007 Two recent High Court cases have highlighted the growing concern of intellectual property theft within the recruitment industry. The illegal misuse of confidential information has been around for many years, however, with the advent of new technology the capturing and retrieving of databases has led to one recruitment agency owner calling for the industry to share its experiences and to tackle the issue head on. The plaintiff in one particular case, Richard Pomerenke, Director of Social Workline Ltd believes that the recruitment industry and those that have suffered database theft in particular, should share their experiences and put a case before the Data Registrar, Richard Thomas. His words come following a case in which Social Workline Ltd issued proceedings against ex-employee Billy Richard and his then new employer, Paul Godfrey, MD of Action First Recruitment Consultants. The Case which went to Trail last November at the High Court in Aldwych ended after six days when some of the parties agreed to settle. In the case it was alleged that a consultant at Social Workline, Billy Richard, left the company to join rival social care agency Action First which at that time was owned by Paul Godfrey. (Action First is now a part of the Public Recruitment Group plc). Richard it was argued was told by Godfrey to ‘take as much information as you can’, an accusation Godfrey denied. Richard who against instructions did not attend the Trial was found in his case to have a no order verdict returned. The case against Godfrey was dismissed. In a joint statement the agencies said; “Action First and Social Workline have resolved their differences, both parties recognising that their time and energies are better spent on their recruitment businesses.” Details of the settlement were subject to a confidentiality agreement. Pomerenke said that the offer was one of several that Action First had made but he did not go so far as to say that the final offer covered his legal expenses which are thought to be in excess of £500,000. In a separate and landmark case a former employee of Hays Construction & Property received a 14 day prison sentence arising from the theft of Hays’ candidate and client list. Following pleas in mitigation the custodial sentence was suspended for six months. The case involved both the ex-employee and a competitor. The Judge gave judgement in Hay’s favour, including awarding Hays costs of approximately £50,000 together with an award for substantial damages. Hays took action after it became apparent that extracts from its client and candidate database had been faxed to the competitor. It quickly obtained High Court injunctions requiring the defendants to cease using Hays material and for orders compelling its return. Although obtained in the civil courts, the injunctions were backed up by criminal sanctions. Hays succeeded in obtaining judgement against those involved, were granted permanent restraining injunctions and were ordered costs on an indemnity basis with an order that 90% of the costs be paid within 14 days. Tim Cook, Managing Director of Hays Construction & Property said; “Whilst we respect an individual’s right to move from one agency to another, this should be in a professional and legitimate manner. It is our policy to protect our database and commercial interests. The details of our customers are legally protected assets, and not owned by employees.” Hays were represented by Mishcon de Reya the leading London-based law firm and a company that specialises in helping the recruitment industry. In fact back in 2005 Mischon de Reya and Recruitment International put on a special evening seminar on database theft that was extremely well attended. One of the surprising elements of the Hays case involved the data being obtained through the use of a fax machine, no longer regarded as sophisticated technology. Given the rise in USB sticks, ipods, mobiles, laptops and email, the problem of data protection will continue to be an issue. For this reason Pomerenke is calling on those who have been through similar experiences to contact him in order to present a case to the Data Registrar, Richard Thomas and then onto the Shadow Attorney General. You can contact Richard Pomerenke in confidence at socialworkline@aol.com Related Downloads Download file Adobe Acrobat PDF document (315 KB)
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