When you are the victim of defamation, it’s difficult to know how to clear your name and get your life back on track. Unfortunately, even after you’ve sought the help of an expert in British or Irish defamation law, the message will already be out there, and can be hard to retract.
Because of this, your career development, including your current job and potential future employment, may be affected.
In this post, we’re going to help you understand what defamation is, and how it may halt your career development. We’ll then let you in on the ways you can fight back to restore your reputation.
What is Defamation and How Does it Occur?
According to the Defamation Act 2013, the term ‘defamation’ defines an untrue statement, presented as fact, that causes harm to the character of the person described. If the person’s reputation is damaged because of this statement, the statement is considered defamatory.
Defamation is often confused for libel and slander. In actual fact, these are both types of defamation and fall under defamation law:
- Libel refers to a defamatory statement made in writing, such as a letter, email, social media post, blog, or text message.
- Slander, on the other hand, is a defamatory statement that’s spoken, i.e., in a speech or a video recording.
Defamation in the workplace can come from something as simple as an employee sharing a joke about a person via email, or retweeting gossip about them. If the statement is being presented as true and it damages the victim’s reputation, it’s defamation.
Defamation that affects your career development doesn’t only have to take place in the workplace. Any untrue statement made about you that tarnishes your reputation and affects your future work is defamatory.
How Can Defamation Affect Your Career Development?
Now that we have an understanding of what defamation is and how it can occur in and out of the workplace, it’s time to look at how it may stunt your career development. Here are the two main ways defamation could do so:
1. Tarnish your current employment
If your job has specific rules against the kinds of actions being shared about you, this may have damaging consequences. Supervisors, managers or owners of the business could demote you, restrict any potential for moving up the chain of command, and even fire you.
Even if you swear blind that these rumours aren’t true, unless you take some form of legal action against the people spreading the rumours to prove your innocence, you could be out of a job. You may even have your future career progression severely disrupted.
Reputational damage can sometimes be impossible to recover from, with some people still believing the rumours even if you win a legal case and treating you unduly as a result. The only way to escape it might be to change your job or your career.
2. Damage your future employment
Some cases of defamation are so damaging that they can follow you across different jobs, especially in the world of social media where rumours can live on forever. Maybe the case was so high-profile that it made the newspapers, and people can easily Google it and read what was said about you.
Whatever the reason, having a defamation case follow you across jobs and career paths is the ultimate destruction of your career development. It could hamper your progression for the rest of your life.
In defamation cases like this, and ones that stay within a single company, there is a form of recourse where a court will assess the level of damage done. They’ll also assess the potential future damage of the defamation, and award you compensation for it.
Can You File a Claim Against Someone Who Has Defamed You to Ruin Your Career?
For you to be able to make a successful defamation claim, you need to be able to prove that the defamatory statement was made and that it refers to you. This can be either a direct naming of you or a reference that would lead to your identification.
This is quite easy to prove if it’s libel, especially with most of it taking place through email, social media and other platforms that keep a permanent record of what was said. It becomes more difficult if it’s slander, but it can be proven if heard by a third party.
Once this has been proven, you then have to prove that the defamatory statement caused you harm, or has the potential to cause you harm, i.e., your potential career development or ability to maintain normal social standing.
It’s quite difficult to prove harm, which usually involves you testifying that your reputation has suffered, causing you a financial loss. You also need to back it up with witness testimony and documents, such as bank statements, bills, payslips, etc.
To be completely sure you have a case, you’ll have to speak to a local defamation solicitor and, if you do, let them take it to court on your behalf. Once your case had been tried, you’ll hopefully be awarded damages to the sum of your loss of reputation and future career development. The amount varies widely depending on the case but, either way, you’ll be able to clear your name.
One more thing to note: for cases where your reputation is ruined because there’s still stuff printed online about your case, you can file for an injunction to have it removed and prevent any future publication of it.
Will Defamation Ruin Your Future Career Development?
In this post, we’ve managed to cover what defamation is, how it can affect your career development, and given you some insight into whether you have a legal claim or not.
Not all defamation ruins career development, especially if the false statement about you isn’t believed by your current employer or future employers. These rumours often fizzle out, so it’s a good idea to monitor them to see if they affect your reputation long-term.
If you’re in a situation where you definitely believe your reputation will be severely tarnished, and it’s had an immediate impact on your career, it’s time to get the law involved and hold those responsible accountable.