A close friend is currently suspended from work due to an allegation made against her. Can't post details on here, but if true the allegation would definitely justify summary dismissal for gross misconduct. However, the allegation is not true. The alleged incident took place in an area covered by the employer's CCTV, so friend was initially confident that matters would be promptly resolved as CCTV would prove the allegation untrue. Employer agreed to look at CCTV. However, it has now told friend footage has been deleted. The employer's take on this is that the CCTV footage was too poor quality to be of use. However, friend has only the employer's word to go on as she never got to see the footage herself and frankly does not trust the employee who looked at the footage and decided it was "poor quality".
My questions are: was the employer under any kind of legal duty to make sure the footage did not get wiped? If so, can you give me chapter and verse on where that duty comes from (eg which Act or case)? Does friend have any kind of recourse now that footage has been deleted? It seems so unfair that what should have been a clear cut case has now effectively turned into a case of one person's word against another. Any advice welcome!