Defending a Discrimination Claim

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Under the Equality Act 2010, employees can bring claims on a range of grounds including Age, Disability, Race and Sexual Orientation. While there are many genuine claims, there are also individuals who will attempt to use them to scare their employer, so you have to be prepared.

Handling discrimination claims

Any claim, whether valid or not, can ruin a business. In the short term it can stir up mistrust and disengagement in your team, create difficulty hiring good people and the power of social media can damage your reputation for a long time.

With the potential for unlimited awards, successful claim could also leave your business facing financial ruin.

Prevention is the best policy through training your managers and supervisors on how to think about difference and how to handle issues early.

The fact that you’re here suggests things are serious.

You’ve come to the right people.

Whether a valid claim or not, it’s very important that you seek experienced legal support to help you navigate this very tricky challenge.

Discrimination cases can be complex and highly charged – especially when we are talking about someone who feels their identity is under attack – be that race, pregnancy & maternity, age, disability, sexual orientation, marriage & civil partnership, gender reassignment, religion or belief.

Your employee may well have already engaged a no-win-no-fee lawyer to represent them and mishandling your response, however well intentioned, can make things worse.

Don’t take chances with your company’s reputation.

Why people choose Astute Lawyers

The fact that we have successfully represented both sides of this challenge gives us an advantage. We have a unique insight into the arguments and tactics from both directions and we have successfully supported many companies in situations like this.

We will help you…

  • Identify whether a claim is valid.
  • If it’s not, and the employee is just using it as a scare tactic we’ll help you find the best way to fight it, ensuring the least damage to your reputation and finances.
  • If the claim is going ahead, we’ll use our expertise to identify the best resolution for you and your business.
  • We’ll explain all the options including negotiating a settlement out of court or preparing and presenting the best possible defence for court.

We are confident that Our 4 Stage Resolution Approach will help you get the best outcome.

What Makes Us Different

The fact that we work with employers and employees means we understand both sides of the story when things go wrong and how to get a resolution that protects your business - with the least disruption - in the most cost-effective way.

Whatever the situation we're confident we can get the right result. Why? Because, in every single case we've represented, our client got the result they wanted even when on the face of it, things sometimes looked impossible.

Unlike most other law firms, we don't operate at a distance charging you in 6min units - we work with you with total transparency at every step, providing the technical and practical expertise to help make the law work for you.

If you want to keep the case out of court, we'll negotiate to help settle the claim as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible.

If you need to fight a case, we will help you prepare and present your case in a way that ensures your success. If we can't achieve that, we'll tell you.

Our hands-on approach means that whatever your HR / Employment Law situation might be, we can find the right solution for you.

Our 4 Stage Approach Gets Results

When things go wrong, it can be a massive drain on time, money and energy.

There are important decisions you need to make that affect you now and for the future. Getting it wrong can turn an unwanted tricky situations into a minefield.

This step by step approach designed to solve your problem in a way that means you only pay for the most cost-effective route to the outcome you want.

 

Your FREE 15min Phone Call

Stage 1

Your FREE 7Q CONSULTATION and RESOLUTION

No documents reviewed but a clear resolution mapped out

Stage 2

Your Deep Dive Case Assessment & Strategic Plan

Fixed Cost to map your steps to resolution

Stage 3

Negotiating Your Solution from a Letter Before Action to a Conciliation Process

Fixed Cost or Hourly Rate priced on complexity

Stage 4

Tribunal Hearing and other legal proceedings

Fixed Cost priced on complexity

Your FREE 15min Call

This straight-forward chat with an expert solicitor will help you will quickly discover the three most important insights you need before you do anything else.
  • whether it makes sense for you to pursue your case (or not)
  • what your next steps should be.
  • whether we are the right people to help you achieve the outcome you want.

This is an initial conversation. It’s not a detailed case assessment and we won’t have time to look at any documentation. It’s designed to quickly understand your story, the circumstances, the outcome you’re looking for and to assess whether you have a case.

Stage 1 - Your 7Q Resolution Session

This conversation is designed to get a strategic step-by-step roadmap of how to get what you want and whether the ‘juice is worth the squeeze’.

We will help you work out whether it makes sense to pursue the outcome you really want but also understand what it would take by helping you answer these 7 critical questions:

  • What do you really want the outcome to be?
  • What is the strength of your legal position?
  • What are your options and steps for resolving it?
  • How much will each step likely cost?
  • What are your chances of success?
  • Would the reward be worth the cost and effort?
  • Are we the right people to help you?

At the end of this conversation, you will be able to make a firm decision about what to do or not do.

If there’s a quick win resolution to be had, you may be able to resolve it without further cost.

If it’s more complicated, you will know the pathway to achieve the outcome you want, an estimate of how much each step will cost and what you might gain at each stage.

Stage 2 - Your Detailed Case Assessment

Whether you’re an employee raising a claim for bullying, harassment or discrimination or an employer defending your business against such challenges, the Detailed Case Assessment is a critical step for strategising the steps to your successful outcome.

This is a fixed price review of all the actions and pertinent documents relating to the case including an assess of whether your people have done the right things in the right way.

We will schedule a detailed walkthrough session to discuss the facts and options and agree the best course of action. We will…

  • help you be very clear about your legal position and the strength of your case
  • map out your best path to success – from the letter before action to the potential tribunal hearing – and the likely challenges at each step
  • explain the specific arguments you need to make to negotiate a settlement proposal in your favour or to achieve whatever your desired outcomes are given your situation.
  • Ensure you understand the next steps and costs if this were to proceed as far as an employment tribunal.

Whether the next step is negotiation, conciliation, a settlement agreement or even if it goes to a tribunal – our priority is to find the right solution for you as fast as possible. That way you can decide with absolute certainty how to proceed.

Stage 3 – Negotiating Your Solution

Our goal is always to find the fastest way to the best resolution.

Sometimes, laying out the case in a letter before action is enough to help people to accept someone else’s perspective and agree to move on.

Sometimes we have to do the negotiation dance – especially when emotions are running high on both sides. Our commitment to you means we go backwards and forwards as many times as it takes until the deal makes sense.

Sometimes we have to fight all the way to the tribunal.

Nearly 80% of disputes are settled out of court.

We will help you navigate this pathway in a way that allows everyone to part ways with as little fuss as possible and the best outcome for you.

We’ve got your back until the resolution is done.

We can help you

A free consultation for us to discuss the best way to achieve your desired outcome. Excludes review of any documentation.

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