How to Win a Disability
Discrimination Tribunal Case
Has something has gone wrong at work?
It is possible that you are reading this because:
You have the perception that you have been subjected to a unfavourable treatment at work, namely due to your disability. The act of treating a person with a disability in a manner that is less favourable than a person who does not have the disability in the same or comparable circumstances is an example of disability discrimination.
A person is considered to have discriminated against a disabled person in accordance with section 15 of the Equality Act of 2010, which states that discrimination occurs when a person mistreats a disabled person because of something that arises as a result of the disabled person's impairment. If, on the other hand, the treatment can be objectively justified, then the claim will probably not be successful.
One possible scenario is that you have been terminated from your job due to your disability, and you believe that this action was unlawful.
Alternatively, you may feel as though you are being forced out of your job.
Alternatively, you may have brought up a significant issue regarding your disability, and you believe that you are being punished for it.
Lastly, you may have experienced something at work that you believe was was discrimination or supported someone in their grievance and now being made redundant.
This guide
There is a reason why you are here right now: you want to know what you can do about it. I need to find a way to keep my employer accountable and find a solution to this problem. With the help of this guide, you will be able to follow a action plan for the following tasks necessary. We have compiled this guidance with the intention of assisting individuals in resolving their own job struggles. Every year, millions of disabled people face a problem at work that they will not be able to afford to engage a lawyer to assist them with. As a result, many of these individuals wind up giving up on the matter altogether. The purpose of this service is to assist you in retaliating.
Taking Action
If you want to take action, the first thing you need to do is figure out where you have advantage, also known as power, in your current employment scenario. It's possible that you believe you don't have any power at all, but there are a few things that you should take into consideration. Every single employee is entitled to specific legal rights from the very first day of employment. It does not matter how long you have been employed; these rights begin on the very first day of your job. In addition, every worker has the right to file a complaint, (this is referred to as a grievance), to have that complaint regarded seriously, and to appeal the decision that was made regarding their complaint.
The employees receive even more legal rights when they have been employed for a period of two years. In the event that an employee believes that their rights have been violated, they have a period of three months minus one day to initiate the process of filing a claim with the Employment Tribunal. In cases involving redundancy and equal pay, the time frame may be extended. Employees must not incur any costs in order to file a claim with the Employment Tribunal, and they are free to withdraw their claim at any moment. Now, consider the situation from the point of view of the employer.
Whenever an employee brings up a legal matter, the employer is required to retain the services of expensive solicitors in order to assist them in resolving the issue. The claims made by the tribunal are made public, and an employer runs the danger of having their actions on the public record, which might potentially damage their reputation. Tribunals consume a significant amount of time and incur additional expenses by way of legal fees, which frequently amount to tens of thousands of pounds. Employment tribunals have the authority to require employers to pay expensive compensation to their staff members.
Therefore, you have the leverage that employers normally want to avoid being hauled to Employment Tribunal because of the risks, costs, and time that are associated with the situation. This indicates that you have the most power to get your issue fixed when your employer believes that you have a genuine claim before the Employment Tribunal, even if you do not intend to pursue it all the way through to a hearing before the Tribunal.
What are the chances of winning an employment tribunal?
When employers see the following they will immediately sit up and pay attention.
There is a requirement that an employee be aware of their rights and has identified the legal matter for which they seek to file a claim.
It is imperative that their claim falls within the time frame of three months.
It is noteworthy that the employee possesses evidence to support their claim.
This means that the employee is either currently taking the next step for a claim, which is to notify ACAS, or is getting ready to take that step.
In the following parts, we will guide you through the process of constructing this plausible claim, and then we will discuss the many approaches that can be taken to effectively settle your issue once you have established the basic steps above in order to bring a successful an employment tribunal claim.
Merits of claim
Obtain a professional review of the prospective validity and merit of your case, as well as strategic direction for the actions that should be taken in the future. A legal professional is going to give careful consideration to both your claim and the proof that you have presented. At this point, we will provide an explanation of the merits of your claim and argument, as well as recommendations for the subsequent steps that should be taken, such as what proof has to be acquired or whether you have overlooked something. This phone call will last for one hour, during which we will go over your claims, outline the subsequent stages, and talk about the approach. The following is a summary of the possible outcomes that could occur in your case before the Tribunal, which will aid you in deciding whether or not to proceed with the case. Get your evaluation scheduled.
Step 1
Clearly particularise your issue(s)
To demonstrate to your employer that you are aware of the specific right (or rights) that you believe they have infringed and that you are prepared to explain this to the Tribunal, it is essential that you look for the appropriate legal word to describe your situation. There is a widespread misunderstanding that employees do not have any rights until they have been employed by a company for a period of two years. While certain rights do not become active until beyond the two-year mark, other rights are already in place from the very beginning like discrimination.
Our disability Dicrimination Template
You can make use of our disability discrimination claim template, which will assist you in determining the various types of disability discrimination claims that you are able to file as well as the appropriate manner to refer to the claims. The syntax of the template has been crafted in such a way that it may be utilised by anyone. You can download it, print it out, and then choose to either submit online or with a paper application to the Employment Tribunal together with the ET1 Form. To fulfil the requirements of section 8.2 of the ET1 form, you are obliged to offer an explanation of the claim(s) that you want to bring.
Protection from Discrimination is a right you have from day one
According to the Equality Act, individuals who possess a protected characteristic have the right to not be treated unfairly because of that characteristic. This right protects them from being subjected to discrimination. In reality, this right begins even before you begin working for the other company. In the course of the application procedure for the employment, you are entitled to this.
Individuals who have been terminated due to a protected characteristic, such as discrimination based on disability, are entitled to an automatic right to file a claim for unfair dismissal, which does not necessitate the completion of a two-year test.
A note on victimisation
If you file a complaint, even if it is an informal one, about a discrimination issue and your employer begins to treat you poorly because of that complaint, this is referred to as "victimisation," and it is an extra claim that you can make on top of the claim that you initially filed. Learn more about victimisation and the circumstances in which it occurs here.
Step 2
ACAS Conciliation
You will want to negotiate with your employer during the "three-month window" when you are able to bring a claim with the Employment Tribunal. This will allow you to have the greatest influence available with them. The fact that the employer is aware that, in the event that things do not go as planned, they may be required to make preparations for an expensive Tribunal process gives you leverage.
It is unfortunate that the time limit for filing a claim is quite stringent. When it comes to most claims, you have three months and one day less than the "key act" to consult with ACAS and begin the process of filing with the Employment Tribunal. For claims of equal pay and redundancy, you have six months less one day to submit your application.
As an illustration, if you were fired in an unjust manner on May 1st, you would be required to get in touch with ACAS by the end of the day on July 31st to initiate the Early Conciliation process.
What is the “key act” that starts the clock?
The "key act" that you begin counting from will be determined by that form of claim. An overview of some frequent types of cases and how the "key act" operates for each type of case. It is essential to keep in mind that employers can contest the "key act" date in an effort to get a Tribunal claim dismissed, and they frequently do so. Therefore, it is essential to take action as soon as possible.
Discrimination Claims
It is possible that determining when the timeline begins can be more difficult when dealing with a discrimination lawsuit. In general, the regulations are as follows:
A single act
The time restriction begins to run from the date of the single unlawful conduct that has occurred if there has only been one such act.
Multiple separate acts
In cases where there has been more than one act that is considered unlawful, the time restriction begins to run from the date of each individual act. This indicates that it is feasible for you to be late for some of the earlier acts, but you will be able to make it to the later ones on time.
Behavior that is ongoing
There is a possibility that you may make the case that several separate episodes amounted to a single act that was ongoing. It is possible that the Tribunal will be allowed to take into consideration earlier acts as part of the same issue, even though the time restriction in this scenario continues to begin from the date of the most recent act. The determination of this point can be challenging, and it is possible that you will be required to provide a detailed argument regarding this point as part of your case before the Employment Tribunal.
extending time limits
In order to avoid running out of time, the good news is that you do not need to file a complete claim; all you need to do is go to the following stage, which is to get in touch with ACAS for early conciliation. There will be a minimum of one month added to "the clock" as a result of the ACAS process.
Keep in mind that contacting ACAS or filing a claim are not the only steps you will be able to take; you simply need to be careful of the timelines in order to keep your leverage. If you are still inside the time window, the most important thing to do right now is to check whether or not you are still within the time window.
What if I am out of time?
There is a possibility that a court will agree to extend the time limit for you if you have missed the deadline due to illness or for another valid reason; nonetheless, it is essential that you do not rely on this possibility.
In cases involving discrimination, it is necessary for the judge to determine whether or not it was "just and equitable" for you to achieve the stated deadline. As an illustration, you might be able to obtain an extension under certain circumstances, such as when you are ill or when you are going through a grievance process that is still ongoing.
In the instance of an unjust dismissal, it is necessary for them to resolve the question of whether the firing was "reasonably practicable." Due to the fact that the "reasonably practicable" criteria is more difficult to fulfil, it is possible that a portion of your case will be permitted, but another portion will be accounted for as having passed the deadline.
If you find yourself in this predicament, however, you should be aware that there is no assurance that the time restriction will be extended after all. It is possible that your employer will view this as a favourable moment to attempt to have your claim "struck out," which means to dismiss it.
Step 3
collect evidence
It is now possible for you to begin strengthening your claim now that you have a notion of how to name your problem and are aware of where you stand on the process of filing your claim. Your pressure with your employer will increase in proportion to the degree to which you are prepared with evidence.
Evidence checklist
Important papers that are helpful to have in the majority of claims are as follows:
your employment contract,
your job description, if you have been provided with one for your function, and
any policies and procedures that are relevant to the problem that you are experiencing (these will most likely be included in the staff handbook).
emails, letters, or other correspondence with your employer that pertains to any grievance, disciplinary action, dismissal, or redundancy related to your employment.
Other evidence types
Your case might additionally call for additional pieces of evidence, such as the following examples:
If you are required to provide evidence that you are disabled as part of your claim, or if medical evidence is in any way pertinent to the events that transpired in your life, you may be required to provide medical evidence.
Documents that provide evidence of the problems you have been experiencing at your place of employment. There is a wide variety of things that could fall under this category. For instance, this could contain information about your performance, such as sales data, record of performance reviews, or timesheets.
The policies of the company may include things like flexible working arrangements, policies regarding redundancies, and policies about sick leave with absence. These are helpful in two different ways: first, the policies themselves might be illegal, and second, you can utilise them to determine whether or not they adhered to their own policies.
Notes taken during meetings.
Your diary or any other written record you have of the events that took place.
A work diary or contemporaneous notes.
Keeping your evidence organised
It is crucial that you ensure that your evidence is well-organised and easy to reference because it is the evidence that gives your claim the critical weight it needs.
There is more than one way to accomplish this:
Organise information in folders on your computer or mobile device to keep it organised. It is imperative that you maintain a backup of these papers if you are unable to access your email or if your device experiences a malfunction.
Ensure that your evidence is backed up by storing it in folders on a storage site such as Dropbox or Google. This will ensure that your data is protected in the event that your apparatus fails.
Document review
Our services include a document review. You are going to be provided with a legal coach who is able to provide you with an in-depth and professional legal evaluation of the documents that you provide or will answer any questions that you may have. If you have decided to have Employment Law UK evaluate your documents, you will have a talk with the coach over the phone for thirty minutes. During this time, he will make certain that all of the proof that you require to demonstrate that your claim is acceptable is in order.
An examination of a document serves two purposes. The first thing that needs to be done is to ascertain whether or not the internal papers are pertinent to a certain instance. This will allow for a better comprehension of the success that has been achieved. The second step is to compile a list of papers that will be exchanged during the litigation process. To put it another way, you are putting together the evidence that you will use to support your claim.
Step 4
Realistic Goals
Now that you have a solid understanding of what went wrong and some evidence to support your claim, it is time to give some thought to what it is that you want. Because you may be feeling angry, wounded, and frustrated with your job, this is frequently a difficult issue to figure out. You may have every reason to feel these emotions. The feelings that you are experiencing are completely normal, and you may use the anger and aggravation that you are experiencing to keep you motivated when you act. However, for the time being, let's take a step back and examine the desired result.
Common resolutions for an employment issue
Here are some things that employees commonly ask for to resolve their issue:
a return to their previous position if they were terminated;
a transfer to a different team or manager;
reasonable adjustments made for them, such as a modification for a disability or flexible working arrangements for a parent or carer;
a written or verbal apology;
disciplinary action taken against a member of staff;
financial compensation; and
a good reference.
Financial compensation
For the purpose of making a financial settlement with your employer legally binding, you will need to obtain independent legal advice if you are in the process of negotiating such a settlement.
When it comes to what you can and cannot ask for, there are no official regulations to follow. You and your employer are the parties involved in this negotiation, and it is extremely personal to the two of you separately. Having said that, it is beneficial to investigate the process by which the Employment Tribunal decides on amounts of compensation, as this is the method that your employer will most likely use to determine the "worst case" scenario if you go to the Tribunal. It would be beneficial for you to do some research and reading to learn about the many sorts of compensation that the Tribunal may award for the particular claims that you have.
Future loss
if you are unable to find work for a specific amount of time, you have the ability to request that your employer compensate you for your temporary loss of employment. For instance, you might believe that it will take you three months to locate a new job that offers the same level of remuneration, and as a result, you might request three months' worth of salary.
Unpaid wages
If a portion of your claim revolves on the employer's failure to pay you money that you believe you are legally entitled to, it is imperative that this aspect is incorporated into any financial settlement that you are requesting on behalf of yourself. Remember to consider factors like the advantages offered by the employer, such as holiday pay and bonuses.
Discrimination
If you are submitting a claim for discrimination, the Tribunal will also take into consideration awards that are based on the impact that discrimination has on you as an individual, which is referred to as "injury to feelings." The amount of these awards might range anywhere from £900 to £45,600, depending on the seriousness of the offence.
When it comes to taxes, the primary payment that you receive from a settlement should be exempt from taxation up to a certain point, but other aspects of the settlement may be subject to taxation. When you begin the process of finalising the terms of the settlement, a legal advisor can provide you with advice.
Step 5
Taking Action
You now have five major actions that you can take:
1. Raise a grievance
2. Send a “Without Prejudice” letter
3. File a Data Subject Access Request
4. Contact ACAS to start the claim process
5. Resign
Raising a grievance
Raising a grievance is a valuable action to take for two reasons.
It may resolve your issue.
Employers know that Employment Tribunals look favourably on employees who have tried to resolve the issue in the grievance process before taking legal action. By using this process, you are strengthening your claim.
An employee grievance procedure is something that every company is expected to provide and adhere to; this procedure is often outlined in the employee handbook. It is the responsibility of ACAS to outline the legal minimum procedure in the event that they do not have a grievance procedure set down.
Sending an email or expressing your concern to your manager is all that is required to initiate the process of filing a complaint in the first place; it is possible that you have already done so without even realising it. You can then follow this approach to raising a formal grievance and construct your grievance letter using our template, if this "informal" grievance (email) is not resolved. You then have the right to appeal the decision that your employer has made regarding your complaint, and they are expected to investigate and react to your complaint before making a judgement.
Our Grivance Template Letter
A grievance letter sample is provided free of charge by us. Utilise our dissatisfaction letter template, which is available for free use. Utilise this sample letter as a guide to assist you in writing a letter of complaint to your employer in a faster and more effective manner. A grievance letter can be created using the detailed guidelines that are provided in this document. To facilitate the editing process for you, we have made the letter available for download in the format of a Word document.
As you may still be waiting to hear back about a grievance when your three-month window expires, and employers will not likely let you know that your right to a Tribunal claim is about to expire, it is important to note that raising a grievance does not automatically extend your time frame for making a claim. This is something that you should keep in mind. If you want to ensure that you still have sufficient leverage to negotiate, it is common practice to carry out numerous activities simultaneously, such as contacting ACAS while you are going through the grievance process.
Sending a Without Prejudice letter
You can also ask your employer to make a settlement with you by sending a letter using the phrase "without prejudice." This is still another action that you might take. This is a letter that has the words "Without Prejudice" printed at the top, which implies that the employer is not permitted to use any of the contents of the letter against you before the Employment Tribunal during the subsequent proceedings.
For instance, if you send a letter to your employer requesting a settlement of £5,000 and they reject it, they will not be able to claim at the Employment Tribunal later that you only requested for £5,000 earlier, and so that is the amount that the Tribunal should award you.
In addition, your employer may initiate a negotiation with you without prejudice by sending you a letter that is like the one described above and is likewise "off the record."
Even though you have not yet begun negotiating with your employer, there is still another possibility available to you before you file a claim. A conciliator will be appointed by ACAS when you approach them for Early Conciliation. This conciliator will attempt to assist you in negotiating an agreement with your employer with the goal of resolving the conflict.
File a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR)
One of the most effective ways to gain leverage with your employer is to collect evidence, and a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) is a strong instrument that may be used to collect evidence. The Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) is a mechanism that you can use because of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In a nutshell, you have the right to view the information that businesses have stored about you.
Your employer is not need to pay anything in order to submit a DSAR, and they have one month to respond, or they can extend their response for a valid cause. As is the case with the grievance procedure, the deadline for filing a claim will not be altered by sending a DSAR to your employer. Therefore, it is imperative that you do not postpone filing the claim while you are waiting for evidence to be returned from the DSAR.
Contacting ACAS to start the claim process
Next you will have the opportunity to initiate the ACAS process, which, usually, requires you to initiate the process within the time frame of three months minus one day following the "key act" of your claim. You are able to complete the uncomplicated online process of notifying ACAS about your claim by clicking on this link.
When it comes to ACAS, you will have two choices. You can either:
initiate a free conciliation process between you and your employer, or
proceed directly to the Tribunal claim because either you or your employer are not interested in conciliation.
Since the Tribunal procedure can be time-consuming and demanding for both you and your employer, ACAS highly suggests that you investigate the possibility of using the conciliation process. It is possible that this procedure will be successful for you if you are interested in negotiating a settlement with your employer. To obtain information regarding your claim and your objectives, an ACAS representative will get in touch with you. This representative will then operate as a mediator between you and your employer to find a solution to the problem. You will be provided with a reference number by ACAS if the conciliation procedure does not end up being successful. This number will allow you to submit the official claim to the Employment Tribunal.
In the event that your claim window is about to expire and you wish to maintain your alternatives, it is imperative that you get in touch with ACAS in order to initiate the procedure.
Resigning
Leaving one's position can be a significant step to take in certain circumstances. On the one hand, if you are able to maintain your current position, you will have a greater degree of financial stability, even if you are unable to work due to the stress that you are experiencing and need to take some time off due to illness. On the other hand, if you intend to file a claim for constructive dismissal, which is when you believe that you have been driven out of your work, you are required to resign in order to file that claim.
If you find yourself in this predicament, you should exercise caution when it comes to the timing of your resignation. It is important for you to be aware that the likelihood of you being able to successfully establish a claim for constructive dismissal can be negatively impacted if you postpone your resignation for an excessive amount of time.
OUR RESIGNATION LETTER template
The following is a resource that you can use if you are interested in learning how to write a resignation letter specifically for constructive dismissal. Please look at the template for the Constructive Dismissal Resignation Letter that has been supplied here. It is essential to ensure that the sender of the letter can be easily identified that the right date is mentioned, and that the sender's address is included in the letter. If you are going to sign the letter, it is a good idea to print your name below the signature just in case it is difficult to see. This is because letters are often tough to read. It is imperative that you have a look at the Constructive Dismissal claim, which is a document that is associated with the Constructive Dismissal Resignation Letter.
Step 6
Get some employment coaching on how to win AT employment tribunal
If you get stuck within any of the steps and need some gudiance, then the employment coaching service has been established to assist individuals, such as disabled employees, to resolve conflicts or problems related to employment in the workplace. This service is designed to help persons who do not wish to pay a retainer to hire an solictor. We are able to give you with the help to produce the documents that you will want for your workplace dispute, as well as lead you through the procedures of any tribunal procedure.
