Disability Discrimination Solicitors

Your first step should usually be to raise your concerns directly with your employer and give them the chance to resolve the issue internally. If this doesn’t lead to a conclusion that you are happy with, you can start the formal grievance process.  

If this doesn’t achieve the outcome you wanted, we can take it to an Employment Tribunal, beginning with the ACAS early conciliation process. ACAS helps you and your employer to try and settle the dispute out of court. This process can take a month and can be extended by two extra weeks if you and your employer agree. 

When the ACAS early conciliation process ends, you will be given an ACAS certificate. If your dispute is still unresolved at this point, you can issue a claim in the Employment Tribunal. Your employer will get a copy of your claim and will have 30 days to send a defence. 

The Tribunal will then set a date for a full hearing in six-to-nine months, while we work with you to prepare your case. Going through the full Employment Tribunal process may feel daunting, but we have been through it many times before, so we can support and guide you through each step. 

You have three months minus one day from the last act of discrimination to start the ACAS early conciliation process, so you should contact us as soon as possible—these time limits can pass very quickly.

If your claim goes to an Employment Tribunal or to court, the outcomes could be: 

• Compensation 
• Declaration of your rights 
• Recommendation to your employer to stop the discrimination from happening again. 

If we settle your claim through negotiation, we may be able to get a reference and an apology for you, as well as a confidentiality agreement and terms that protect your reputation.  

Reaching a settlement this way can be less stressful than going to court or an Employment Tribunal, and you may also receive a better compensation settlement.  

There are a number of ways you can pay for your legal work: 

• Hourly rate: This is how most of our cases are funded. You only pay for the time you use. 
• Agreed fixed fees: In more complex cases, it might be more cost effective for us to agree a fixed fee for your work. 
• Legal expenses insurance: This is legal cover that’s often a bolt-on to home insurance. It’s worth seeing if you have this as it may cover some or all of your legal fees. 
• Trade union membership: If you are a member of a union, it might have something in place that pays your legal fees if you have an employment dispute. 
• Your employer: In some instances, your employer may pay some of your costs (this can be the case if you are negotiating a settlement agreement). 
• Third-party funding: This is where someone who isn’t directly involved in your case agrees to pay your costs. 
• Crowd funding: It may be possible to crowd fund your case using the CrowdJustice website (particularly if it’s of public interest). 

We can review your options in an initial meeting and let you know how to best pay for your case. 

Make sure to have any relevant membership/insurance documents to hand—they will help us understand any cover you already have.