Has anyone ever taken their public sector employers to tribunal?

[Needtosellmyhousesoon]

I've read a bit about people taking private companies to tribunals for discrimination/personal injury etc but what about the public sector?

Does anyone know anything about this and what it's like?

I have been diagnosed with a mental health condition caused by an unsafe working environment, plus potentially disability discrimination. I am going to end up leaving my job because of it, and i am very upset with my employers. I would, best case scenario, be looking for compensation and an apology/admittance of what they did wrong!

Any insight or experiences would be very welcome!

In the public sector the “grievance process” would normally be expected instead of / before a tribunal (And compensation can be a valid outcome of grievances)

You will need details on your appropriate departments grievance processes and union support

The link below gives a basic introduction from Unison, but things should be similar throughout

https://unison.org.uk/get-help/grievances

I’ve never been involved, but have seen a good few grievances raised over the years

If a grievance remains unsatisfied it can proceed to tribunal via ACAS but get down all the timelines in case deadlines may apply

You will be expected to exhaust your employers grievance process first. You would likely be waiting a long time for a trial date. Have you spoken to your union rep? What are the unsafe working conditions?

Thank you for the replies. My employer doesn't have a grievance policy, at least none that staff have access to.

How can you get compensation through a grievance anyway?

What do you actually want as an outcome? The only person I have ever known who went to a tribunal and won was seriously injured by a ladder falling on her at work. I also knew someone who had an issue in the NHS, she didn’t win her case.

I would ask, do you intend to still work? What do you think they did that was wrong ? and more importantly are you already in a union because if not they are not supposed to take retrospective cases and rightly so because no subs have ever been taken. Ex union rep here in public sector, was a while ago though.

Other posters are correct in that there will be a very specific grievance procedure that needs to be followed. You can also ring ACAS for free.

(Please treat the question elements as rhetorical and use as applicable for considering your next steps - certainly don’t tell us your personal details and especially don’t risk posting on a public forum what could prejudice a case!)

If applicable compensation would most likely be requested when the grievance is instigated and raised as part of your “desired outcome”.

The most obvious thought I have on this is “loss of income”, as you noted that you are likely to leave the job. Therefore you lose that salary, but may subsequently receive benefits or get a different job which makes your “earnings loss” the net difference.
Another potential compensation would be if there is considered to be an “injury” element caused to your health.

I feel that apologies are also a good outcome - it
can seem pretty simple and just words, but (if genuine) acknowledges the issue and also tie in with aiming to prevent repetition for others in the future.
(Just paying you off and you leaving would leave the unsafe environment, something has to change)

You need good solid advice, there does need to be a grievance process and it’s concerning (but not necessarily always surprising that it’s not known about - and may also reflect on unsafe practices if there is ignorance on processes and how to risk assess, mitigate etc)

Grievance cases can often come down to process:
Was the right process followed properly ?
Yes it was - grievance fails
No it wasn’t - grievance succeeds
(A very simplified example)

You are claiming that working practices were unsafe, so the test could be asking questions about:
Was a risk assessment in place, mitigations etc?
Were staff inducted to the role, trained, provided PPE, suitable equipment ?
Do records exist - documenting the above, maintenance, faults etc
Did staff & management comply with the above, and did the general environment make sure people did
Anything faulty?
Workloads appropriate, over worked, shortcuts taken ?
What legislation applies ? HASAW, duty of care etc.

Discrimination could be a separate element of the grievance, but it also could be a contributory factor to the above. Eg should there have been reasonable adjustments that were not acted upon causing or exacerbating the unsafe environment ?

Everywhere in the public sector has a grievance policy, it’s completely unlikely it doesn’t.

Find it, ask HR. Then raise it, you need to go all the way through the process.

Just as @ LaurieFairyCake said: public sector musts have a grievance policy. Contact HR for information.

Several years ago a colleague took out a grievance against a manager for similar reasons. It took a while, but he won and received significant compensation. He was supported by his union, which I think was Unison. Good luck, OP.

If you are public sector, are you a union member? If so, speak to your local rep, they can guide you through the grievance process.

I took my local authority employer to tribunal, backed by my union, and settled before it actually went to tribunal.
Be warned, they will fight hard, but if you have a solid case they are as accountable as anyone. I refused their first offer ( my solicitor wanted me to accept) and came away with three times their offer.
In some senses, we found my dh's case against his private employer more trying. They thought they were above employment law, and despite the tribunal finding in my dh's favour, we had to enforce payment due.
Even with Union backing, it's a good idea to read up on employment law yourself and go through any communications from your employer with a fine tooth comb yourself, and flag up anything to your Union . For example, if they are incorrect or contradict themselves. My employer contradicted themselves in communication and I could see that they'd dropped themselves in it if it went on to tribunal.
Too many employers think they can do what they want, so my advice is to always be in a Union, and always challenge if you think you've been wronged.
Good luck!

I assume that the medical professional you have seen has put it on record that your mental health condition has been caused by unsafe working conditions.
Obviously the first thing your employer will do, otherwise is dispute that.