Compensation offer

[Sparklybutold]

What would you do?

I've made a formal complaint to a previous training establishment. I asked for x amount with other things to rectify the situation.

The experience caused immense stress and impacted my health considerably.

They have since admitted fault but have only offered 1/6 of what I asked for whilst offering minimal in terms of the other things that would have gone some way to repair the harm done.

What would you consider in making your decision?

I'd need to know what the complaint was about.

I don’t think you’ve provided nearly enough information for anybody to really answer.

Stress and injury to feelings is one of the hardest things to quantify.

Bullying, misuse of power by a trained professional. Harrassment, discrimination, prejudice. I told several people at the organisation multiple times. It continued and got worse. Lasted 3 years.

This person has since left. The letter sent uses this as a reason they can't do a full
Investigation but acknowledges 'process was not followed'

Fair enough. Difficult as it could be outing.

Add in professional and personal reputational damage. When asking for the amount I did I backed it up with reasons why. I also sought legal advice.

They also did the same to other people, I was one of the most severely impacted which has also been acknowledged.

I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, it sounds awful .

You need legal advice, no one on here can tell you what to do without knowing a lot of details, which of course you cannot give.

I’d start by looking at what I’d be awarded if I made a legal claim (eg Vento bands) and take a bit off to make it worth their while financially to settle rather than go through a protracted legal process I guess.

What does your solicitor advise?

To go through all normal complaint avenues before seeking and using legal help.

Does your solicitor think their offer is fair?

I haven't asked this.

Yes, you have to be willing to settle 'out of court' first. But it's not super helpful advice. I'd want to know whether the solicitor thinks the offer is fair, whether the solicitor thinks your case has 'legs'.

You can't accept the current offer without proper legal advice.

The fact that the establishment has already accepted liability suggests that you can get more than the paltry initial offer. They're just hoping you'll say ok and go away.

If you have a strong case, then it's likely your legal costs can be claimed on top of the compensation.

(Nothing like your case, but 10 years ago I was in a situation with a leasehold freeholder who hadn't repaired my leaky roof - I was living with buckets around the flat). I didn't go to a solicitor sooner, because I was afraid of legal costs. In the end, I went to a solicitor. He wrote letters. It got sorted. And the freeholder paid my legal costs as part of the agreement to settle.

You should probably ask your lawyer to look at the offer. They’ll have a much better idea as they are familiar with your case and will have an ability to judge and benchmark the offer.

Surely this is the obvious thing to do?
They’ve offered 1/6th of your proposal - but we can’t know if your proposal was 6x what is reasonable! (or usual, which is probably more helpful to know than reasonable- and that’s where your solicitor comes in)

As others have hinted, compensation for injury to feelings in cases that go to court is usually much, much lower than what the claimant initially wanted. See your initial request as your starting point in the negotiation, and their offer as their starting point. You may find you can move towards a mutually acceptable solution.
By way of context, in a case I was peripherally involved in where the claimant "won" in court, the injury to feelings component of their (overall modest) award was lower than their initial claim by an order of magnitude.
Your solicitor is the person who can advise you on the "merits" of your case and whether their offer is reasonable and the risks and benefits of accepting, rejecting or negotiating.

I'd see it as a negotiation. You've asked for X. They've offered Y. They are a distance apart, but there are still other steps remaining to take. If they are not willing to meet you at X, what is the next step? It might be filing a legal claim or a letter before action.

If the amount claimed is less than it would cost to fight the claim x the chances of success on all or part of your grounds, they may pay you. Or they may see it as a personal affront and decide they'd rather pay the lawyers twice over than give you an extra penny.

Either way, you are at the early stages of this process and there is some way still to go. Ask your solicitor for advice.

Update - I've contacted legal help through my insurers. They confirm in a few days whether I will be able to make a claim or not. In the meantime I will appeal the offer. Hopefully I can get legal help paid for via insurance so I have robust support if I do pursue it further.