BBC security boss who used CCTV to find kitchen culprit wins payout
Mohammad Rakib worked at the BBC Wales headquarters on behalf of the security contractor Mitie but was sacked in May 2023 for gross misconduct. He was accused of 'superfluous' use of CCTV and breaching data protection rules by looking through the security footage without having the correct licence.
The security manager allegedly gave 'multiple' explanations for trawling through the hours of footage, including telling colleagues that he was trying to help someone find a lost bag and that he also couldn't remember the reason. But another security worker told bosses that Rakib was viewing the tapes 'to catch who had made a mess in the kitchen'.
After a report of the incident, the BBC corporate security manager Joel Adlington told Mitie's investigator that use of BBC CCTV systems without proper approval 'for what appears to be personal benefit or superfluous use' was unacceptable and amounted to a breach of general data protection regulation.
Adlington wrote: 'I must put on record that it is a significant breach of trust between the staff member and the organisation and you have my full support in your assessment of gross misconduct.'
Mitie held a disciplinary hearing over the alleged CCTV misuse as well as over a claim that Rakib had bullied a security officer — an allegation that was not proven.
Rakib, who had relocated from London to Cardiff to take on the role and worked for the company for eight years, was sacked but appealed against the decision. When his sacking was upheld he launched an employment tribunal and won the case for unfair dismissal.
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Judge Rachel Harfield said there was no indication in the company guidelines that the CCTV offence would amount to gross misconduct.
She said: 'There was no clear picture before the respondent as to what the claimant's [Rakib's] training was, and they had not given him any training themselves or any standard operating procedures on CCTV usage for example.
'The respondent had the claimant's account of what was happening on the ground in Cardiff, and that it was done with the knowledge and direction of managers and the BBC, which would have suggested the claimant did not necessarily know he should not, from his employer's perspective, be reviewing CCTV.'
Harfield said Rakib was now only earning the minimum wage as a security officer at SGD Guarding.
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She said: 'It took the claimant eight years and a move to Cardiff to get promoted. The claimant says he is now at the back of the queue at SGD Guarding in terms of promotion opportunities. He says he thinks it will take another five years.'
After the ruling, the payout of £31,637 was agreed.
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