The manager who was sacked after explicit photos of him and his wife were discovered on his work computer wins £15,000 in damages after the boss threatened to use the photos to ‘make her famous’.
- Ricardo Da Silva was found to have “graphic” images after IT searched his inbox
- He was fired in June 2020 for a “potential breach” of BW Broadcast’s IT policy
- The former manager claimed he was the victim of a “witch hunt” in a labor dispute
- A court found Mr Da Silva’s boss told IT to target him deliberately
By Eleanor Dye for Mailonline
Published: 18:37, August 1, 2022 | Updated: 18:37, August 1, 2022
A manager who was sacked after his wife sent ‘graphic and offensive’ images to his work email address has won £15,000 after claiming he was the victim of a targeted ‘witch hunt’ by his head
Ricardo Da Silva worked as a production and manufacturing manager for BW Broadcast until he was fired in June 2020 after the footage was discovered during a search of his inbox.
He was told that a company-wide IT security check had been carried out and was shown two explicit images that his wife had sent to his work email address in 2017 and then sent to your personal email address in 2019 during work time.
But an employment tribunal has now ruled that Mr Da Silva was unfairly dismissed and awarded him £15,172.38.
When a dispute arose between the company’s two directors, Roger Howe and Scott Incz, in 2017, Mr. Incz believed that Mr. Da Silva sided with his rival.
Da Silva claimed he had been “set up” and the victim of a “witch hunt” by his boss, after Mr. Incz told IT to target him deliberately.
Da Silva claimed that as part of the dispute, Mr. Incz used the images to threaten him with text messages.
Ricardo Da Silva worked as production and manufacturing manager for BW Broadcast (pictured in the Croydon office) until he was made redundant in June 2020 after the footage was discovered during a search of his inbox entry
Several messages were shown on the board as evidence, with Mr. Incz writing to Mr. Da Silva: “My opinion is that you screwed up… you decided that Roger was a better choice for you.
“You tried to steal my stock and you can go. I have every email you sent. You’re screwed!
“You’re not my boss, you and your wife will be lit with lights. She’ll be famous!’
The former manager had worked for the Croydon broadcasting team since October 2006.
The court heard Mr Howe died in March 2020 after falling from the second floor of a building.
The following month, Incz sent a text message to Mr Da Silva saying his wife should stop spreading rumors about Mr Howe’s death, adding that “MI5 has been informed”.
Da Silva was fired in June 2020 for accessing and forwarding inappropriate images and “not devoting his full time and attention to his duties” by doing so during working hours.
But the court concluded that Mr Da Silva had not committed serious misconduct.
Employment judge Omar Khalil ruled: “This was a one-off incident with no wider circulation or real risk of harm to another employee, supplier or customer.
“So it was a contained incident. The photos were of Mr Da Silva and his wife only.
“The Court concluded that BW Broadcast had failed to demonstrate that it was in material breach of the contract entitling it to summarily terminate without notice.”
The judge also believed that the initial investigation made the whole process unfair, adding: “There was no investigation into whether or which other employees had been subject to computer monitoring, even anonymously.”
“The Court was left with an overwhelming impression that (Mr Da Silva) was a target.”
Da Silva won claims for unfair dismissal and unfair dismissal, but lost a claim for marriage discrimination.