Leeds Metropolitan University could become the first university to be sued under the Human Rights Act. Ros Johnstone, a cleaning supervisor who was video-recorded by hidden cameras during her lunch breaks, is determined to sue the university for breach of privacy.
Ms Johnstone was filmed in a campus kitchen as part of a university investigation into alleged drug dealing, which found no evidence.
Because of two comments she made to colleagues during filming, Ms Johnstone was given a formal disciplinary warning by the university and was arrested by the police.
"I was disgusted to find that my personal conversations had been pawed over by university managers. I thought I was confiding in a best friend," she said.
Ms Johnstone, who still works at the university, was taped complaining about her manager, Steve Wilkinson, and commented that her husband wanted to punch him. Another time, she discussed the possibility of her husband and his friend bumping into Mr Wilkinson at a football match and wondered aloud whether they would beat him up.
Police arrested Ms Johnstone on suspicion of "conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm". They dropped the charges, but the university's own investigation led to Ms Johnstone being given a formal written warning.
"I am determined to pursue this all the way," she said this week.
Ms Johnstone has received legal advice that she has a prima facie case to sue the university under article eight of the 1998 Human Rights Act, which stipulates that "everyone has the right to respect for private and family life, his home and correspondence". The act only became enforceable in England from October 2000 but it does allow for some retrospective protection. The covert recording by the university took place in 1998.
Ms Johnstone is appealing to her union, Unison, to fund the test case, but said she was prepared to meet the cost personally and would take the case to Strasbourg under the more established European human rights laws if necessary.
The university said it was not aware of any employee preparing any legal case against it.