Employment
Law Disputes
Have you been unfairly dismissed from or discriminated against in your workplace? Are you aware of your rights and what you can do to enforce those rights?
Our solicitors are high quality employment specialists with years of experience in winning compensation for their clients.
The figures below are from the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal Statistics 2009-10 and relate to employment tribunal awards made in 2009-10.
| Maximum award | Average award | |
|---|---|---|
| Unfair dismissal | £234,549 | £9,120 |
| Race discrimination | £374,922 | £18,584 |
| Sex discrimination | £442,366 | £19,499 |
| Disability discrimination | £729,347 | £52,087 |
| Religious discrimination | £9,500 | £4,886 |
| Sexual orientation discrimination | £163,725 | £20,384 |
| Age discrimination | £48,710 | £10,931 |
Should I make a claim?
Many people claim for one or both of the following reasons:
- To give them financial support (including clearing debts incurred) until they secure further employment.
- To ensure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Call us today on freephone 0800 092 1909 or leave your contact details in the form on the right, and one of our employment specialist solicitors could soon be helping you enforce your legal rights.
I can’t afford to make a claim
Our solicitors will conduct a free evaluation of your personal circumstances. If they believe you have a good chance of winning, they will take your case on a ‘no win no fee’ basis, meaning that they only charge you after the successful completion of your claim. This will be a percentage of the compensation secured for you and the level is proposed by them following an individual evaluation of your case.
In short, you have nothing to pay to find out if you have a claim, nor to make that claim unless (and until) your claim is successful.
How long do I have to make a claim?
An employment tribunal claim must be submitted within 3 months less one day after the date you were dismissed, or the event (such as discrimination) that you are complaining about. Although technically possible in certain circumstances, it is very rare that an extension to this is granted so please contact us as soon as possible if you believe you have a claim.
Further information
Discrimination in the workplace is covered by the Equality Act 2010 which came into force on 1st October 2010, replacing previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Broadly speaking there are 9 protected characteristics and 7 different types of discrimination which the Equality Act prohibits for those ‘protected characteristics’ (there are some exceptions, mainly around marriage/civil partnership and pregnancy/maternity).
‘Protected characteristic’
- Age
- Disability
- Marriage or civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity and gender reassignment.
Type of discrimination
- Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination
Paul, a senior manager, turns down Angela’s application for promotion to a supervisor position. Angela, who is a lesbian, learns that Paul did this because he believes the team that she applied to manage are homophobic. Paul thought that Angela’s sexual orientation would prevent her from gaining the team’s respect and managing them effectively. This is direct sexual orientation discrimination against Angela. - Discrimination by association
Discrimination by association
June works as a project manager and is looking forward to a promised promotion. However, after she tells her boss that her mother, who lives at home, has had a stroke, the promotion is withdrawn. This may be discrimination against June because of her association with a disabled person. - Perception discrimination
Perception discrimination
Jim is 45 but looks much younger. Many people assume that he is in his mid 20s. He is not allowed to represent his company at an international meeting because the Managing Director thinks that he is too young. Jim has been discriminated against on the perception of a protected characteristic. - Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination
A small finance company needs its staff to work late on a Friday afternoon to analyse stock prices in the American finance market. The figures arrive late on Friday because of the global time differences. During the winter some staff would like to be released early on Friday afternoon in order to be home before sunset – a requirement of their religion. They propose to make the time up later during the remainder of the week. The company is not able to agree to this request because the American figures are necessary to the business, they need to be worked on immediately and the company is too small to have anyone else able to do the work. The requirement to work on Friday afternoon is not unlawful indirect discrimination as it meets a legitimate business aim and there is no alternative means available. - Harassment
Harassment
Paul is disabled and is claiming harassment against his line manager after she frequently teased and humiliated him about his disability. Richard shares an office with Paul and he too is claiming harassment, even though he is not disabled, as the manager’s behaviour has also created an offensive environment for him. Steve is continually being called gay and other related names by a group of employees at his work. Homophobic comments have been posted on the staff noticeboard about him by people from this group. Steve was recently physically pushed to the floor by one member of the group but is too scared to take action. Steve is not gay but heterosexual; furthermore the group know he isn’t gay. This is harassment because of sexual orientation. - Third party harassment
Third party harassment
Chris manages a Council Benefits Office. One of his staff, Frank, is gay. Frank mentions to Chris that he is feeling unhappy after a claimant made homophobic remarks in his hearing. Chris is concerned and monitors the situation. Within a few days the claimant makes further offensive remarks. Chris reacts by having a word with the claimant, pointing out that this behaviour is unacceptable. He considers following it up with a letter to him pointing out that he will ban him if this happens again. Chris keeps Frank in the picture with the actions he is taking and believes he is taking reasonable steps to protect Frank from third party harassment. - Victimisation
Victimisation
Anne makes a formal complaint against her manager because she feels that she has been discriminated against because of marriage. Although the complaint is resolved through the organisation’s grievance procedures, Anne is subsequently ostracised by her colleagues, including her manager. She could claim victimisation.
What else can Hamilton Brady help with?
Our solicitors can also advise in plain, non-legalese English on all areas of employment law including
- Unfair dismissal
- Wrongful dismissal
- Compromise agreements
- Contracts of employment, including restrictive covenants
Website Terms of Use
Hamilton Brady Ltd (Company Registration No. 06813023) is regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities.
Our authorisation number is CRM19141 and our registration is recorded on the Ministry of Justice website www.claimsregulation.gov.uk.
Hamilton Brady, registered in England, company number 06813023, Springfield House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire, SK9 5BG
