A BBC security manager has won more than £30,000 in a payout after he was sacked for allegedly trawling through 12 hours of CCTV footage to catch a member of staff who made a mess in the kitchen.
Mohammad Rakib worked at BBC Wales headquarters in Cardiff on behalf of security contractor Mitie.
He was removed from his post after an investigation found he did not have a license to review CCTV footage.
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Mr Rakib has now been awarded a payout of £31,637 after an employment tribunal found he had been unfairly dismissed.
He worked as a security manager for Mitie from April 2022 until his dismissal on September 25, 2023, for gross misconduct.
In his role, he managed a team of around five security officers at the BBC building.
Mr Rakib - who transferred from London to Cardiff for the job - was alleged to have breached data protection rules in May 2023 by studying CCTV footage in a control room without the necessary license.
According to Martyn Barrass, who was investigating the case for Mitie, the security manager gave several reasons for looking at the footage, including that a bag had been misplaced and at another point that he could not remember.
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The security manager worked at the BBC Wales headquarters in Cardiff
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During the investigation meeting, Mr Rakib said: "I don’t know why. I don’t really do CCTV reviews that often, but there was a reason why I was doing it."
Mr Barrass referred to a statement taken from a security officer who alleged Mr Rakib said he had been reviewing 12 hours of footage to "catch who had made a mess in the kitchen".
Mr Rakib, however, denied the allegation.
Mr Mitie made the BBC aware of the matter, to which the broadcaster's corporate security manager, Joel Adlington, said the use of CCTV systems was "superfluous" and described it as "unacceptable".
The security officer worked at BBC Wales for more than a year
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"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," Mr Adlington said.
Mitie held a disciplinary hearing over the alleged misuse of CCTV as well as a claim of bullying against a member of staff.
The bullying allegation was however not proven in evidence, though the security firm concluded he had reviewed CCTV without the appropriate license, and he was sacked.
When Mr Rakib appealed against the decision of unfair dismissal, it was upheld, but his case was later won at the employment tribunal.
Judge Rachel Harfield said there were no guidelines in place to suggest a CCTV license was required or that the alleged offence would be considered gross misconduct.
"There was no clear picture before the respondent as to what the claimant’s training was, and they had not given him any training themselves or any standard operating procedures on CCTV usage for example," Judge Harfield stated.
The employment tribunal judge said Mr Rakib was now earning minimum wage as a security officer at SGC Guarding.
"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," Judge Harfield added.
A payout of £31,637 was agreed.