Employment Tribunal

[EmploymentTribunal]

Has anyone been through the employment tribunal process?

I’m going through it myself for various forms of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal (due to my disability-related sickness absence). I had around 17/18 days of sickness absences over the course of my 3 years at my previous job. Most of these were related to my disabilities, which my former employer were aware of. Thankfully, I can prove this.

They also repeatedly refused to implement reasonable adjustments, which would have avoided my dismissal. They asserted multiple times that I had to be treated the same as every other employee.

We are approaching disclosure and the final hearing is scheduled for mid 2025.

I refused judicial mediation, but my employer has informed me that they are eager to settle. I think this is because they care so much about their reputation. If how they treated me became public, it would be damning for them. They would lose clients and money etc.

Any advice or words of support is much appreciated.

Honestly I have no idea about any of my suppliers employment tribunals and haven’t been proactive about looking them up. I guess it depends whether you’re in it for the money or for the actions of the company going forward. Only by continuing to court can it be both.

They’ll be keen to settle, partly because of the reasons you’ve given, but also because tribunals are time consuming and expensive. What does your lawyer say? If you can negotiate a decent settlement it will save you time and hassle, but if not, or if bringing their actions into the public sphere is a motivator then carrying on might be your best bet. Does your lawyer thing you have a cast iron case?

I thought their litigation expenses would be covered by insurance?

I haven’t got a lawyer per se, but I’ve had a consultation from a volunteer lawyer from ELIPS, who informed me that my claims are very strong because of the evidence.

I’m not interested in settling, really. I want to ensure that no-one else at the company gets subjected to the treatment that I have. It has been awful. I’ve asked the tribunal for a recommendation as part of my remedy in hope of achieving this.

I fully intended in going forward to the final hearing. I’ve been informed from a reliable source that my former employer is extremely concerned.

My former employer repeatedly ignored my reasonable adjustments requests, which would have avoided my dismissal. They can ignore me to a certain extent, but they cannot ignore a judge.

I feel that I can only receive closure by pursing this further.

Thank you. I like how you make an effort to check. I will be checking any potential employers going forward, too

Do you have a solicitor? Or a union supporting you?

I have been through employment litigation. It is common for claims to be settled before the Tribunal, but often the initial settlement offer is a low one and someone advocating for you can persuade them to go higher.

A lot of what a reasonable offer should be will be calculated in a very technical way - how much money you were earning, the effect of their discriminatory behaviour on your mental and physical health.

There is also the opposite risk that if you refuse what is felt to be a generous offer that does take all these different factors into account - and proceed to a full hearing because you want your day in court more than anything else, then you can become what is known as a vexatious litigant, and be asked to pay costs

I was fortunate because I had an employment solicitor supporting me, and the exact nature of the discrimination I experienced, meant that I received other organisational support - and my case was crowdfunded.

My sense is that you really could do with some expert advice, but I hope that the little I've said is of some help.

I’ve already written my schedule of loss, which sets all of that information out.

BTW I was told by the judge at the preliminary hearing that not wanting to go through judicial mediation would not be used as an adverse inference.

I informed the respondent that I would listen to what they have to say, but I am not keen on reaching a settlement. They haven’t offered me any sum of money though, they only informed me that they are eager to settle etc.

You can DM me if you like as I don't want to go into too much detail here. I just know that, like you, I was very keen for the case to go to court because I wanted to highlight the kind of discrimination that I experienced.

In the end I settled, on legal advice.

I think the organisation which discriminated against me, who had to pay their own legal costs and also to make a financial settlement will have regretted ever behaving in the way that they did.

I am a well-educated and organised person, but simply could not have represented myself as effectively as specialist lawyers could. While on one level the issues might seem to be quite simple ones of right and wrong, there is also a whole body of evolving case law. If your employers are a big organisation they'll undoubtedly pay lawyers in order to try and wriggle out of/minimise their liability , so it can end up being a David and Goliath situation.

Thank you, so much! @WifeOfMacbeth

I can’t afford a lawyer to represent me unfortunately. I’ve checked my insurance etc. I have my friend who is representing me on a voluntary basis though.

Have you found other work? You will need to evidence that you have tried to.

The tribunal process is very hard. Only been once for somebody with a disability (3 hearings!), but been through the process leading upto it a few times and settled.

They would normally ask ACAS to put an offer to you. You just say yes or no, or make a counter offer. I'd not cut off your nose to spite your face. You might get less and no doubt they will put in a claim for you to pay their costs prior to tribunal - which is scary but normal.

What size of company are we talking, footsy 100?

Go and watch a hearing as soon as you can. Look on line at the listings.

Thank you!

Unfortunately, I have been signed off by my GP since my dismissal because the discriminatory treatment has had such a profound impact on me. I won’t go into detail though. I’m receiving treatment in hope of returning to my “normal” self.

I can prove this, so hopefully I can use that as a way to prove that I’ve mitigated my losses.

I’ll certainly do that, thank you

They wouldn’t necessarily have insurance for legal costs for employment disputes, unless they face this kind of thing all the time. And they are hugely time consuming, which adds another cost.

Personally, I’d want some legal advice from someone paid to represent my interests and give me an honest appraisal of the case. I’ve seen many a claimant get woeful advice from lawyers who don’t specialise in employment law or discrimination cases, or from volunteer services staffed by trainees etc. Chances are they’ll have decent representation, and the whole process could be quite an ordeal for you.

As another poster has said, many, many cases are settled, the employment tribunals service itself benefits when people settle, it’s creaking at the seams. Some companies settle smaller claims simply because it’s cheaper and less hassle than going to an employment tribunal.

I would suggest you reconsider Judicial Mediation : parties can agree things at mediation that a Tribunal, even if you are successful, will be unable to order. So a commitment eg by your employer to change practices or policies can be agreed upon as part of a JM settlement, an Employment Tribunal judge wouldn't have the power to order this.

JMs are facilitated by employment judges who are usually very pragmatic. You can take a friend to support you during it. You can say whether or not you want to be in the same room as your employer on the day or totally separate throughout. They are a very flexible forum both in terms of format and outcome.

If you are not legally represented you may have a hard time representing yourself at a hearing. The Tribunal will help to an extent but you might find you feel very lonely going it alone. While a friend can sit in on the hearing, they cannot as far as I'm aware sit beside you or help you in any way during the hearing.

There can be a lot to be gained from JM, and I think perhaps you've not fully appreciated that given your stated reasons for refusing it.

Best of luck.

Ex husband went through one, represented by a lawyer funded by legal expenses cover on our home insurance.
The entire day seemed to focus on offers and counter offers to reach a settlement. They didn’t get into the court and did settle in the end.

I had no idea such board existed. Will do 🫡

I think - sadly - it is really difficult to change a wider social culture of discrimination. There's one particular field where I am quite knowledgeable - because it relates to what happens to me. There was a really 'big' case, some years back, that went to an Employment Appeal Tribunal. A game changer. And yet organisations are continuing to perpetuate the same/similar kinds of discrimination, being taken to further Tribunals, losing all over again.

So while person X's case was important, what really mattered was the boost it gave to campaigning groups, and the way people gathered round X in order to make sure that the issue remained in the public eye.

It really does take time to change the wider culture and no one person can do it alone. It's important to stand up for oneself and challenge discrimination, but at the same time it's necessary to be realistic about what's possible.

So, it's useful to think about what you want and how this might to be achieved.

• Money. It might seem like this is not really the point, but it can compensate you for the damage to your health and the loss of income. It can buy you time.
• Publicity. Would disability charities/campaigning groups be interested in your case and support you. Does what's happened fit into some larger pattern, so your story is newsworthy? (I got quite a bit of publicity though my case was settled prior to the hearing.)
• An apology
• For the organisation to change.

There are also issues about how to protect yourself. Litigation is hugely stressful and it is not always the quickest business. Who is there to help you deal with this stress and how long will they stick around?