'Without Prejudice' Conversations - Risks and Pitfalls

Many employers are of the view that once the employer states that a conversation with an employee is "off the record" or "without prejudice" anything that is said during that conversation cannot be disclosed by the employee in any subsequent legal proceedings. This is not the case.


The “without prejudice” rule

In general, the without prejudice rule prevents the parties to a dispute from disclosing any previous negotiations (oral or written), which genuinely attempt to settle that dispute, in subsequent legal proceedings. Normally, without prejudice discussions occur between lawyers for parties in a dispute, but they can occur between the parties themselves. However, difficulties often arise