Taking court action
Advice
Going to court
If no workable solution can be found then you can take the matter to the court. The County Court would hear both sides of the argument and make a decision. Your efforts to resolve the matter without involving the court will make a big difference here. If attending court make sure you take along all paperwork, ideally in a nice order to find it easily.
Self-Representation
If you want to attend without representation then that is allowed, you will need to fill in the court forms and pay the required fee, make sure you inform the court of: -
- Your reason behind taking court action (The exact situation - unfair treatment against you);
- Why do you believe that unlawful discrimination has taken place;
- Why you feel you are treated unfavourably because you have a protected characteristic;
- Proof of meeting the key legal tests/standards that apply to the form of discrimination you’re complaining about under the Equality Act 2010;
- Details/statements from witnesses;
- What “harm” has happened to you (to succeed it is vital to prove your disadvantage/harm); and
- What you want to happen, if going for compensation then how do you know how much, if anything your “suffering” is worth – they could get away with giving you far less than you would have got if a representative acting for you.
Whilst this is your decision, we feel it important to point out the main drawbacks of self-representing would include: -
- Emotion – You may get emotional at court, remembering details may well be upsetting and salient points can be forgotten in the situation whereas a representative would not make this mistake;
- Confusion – Their solicitor may try and confuse matters, having another qualified person balances out their advantage; and
- Quantum – otherwise known as damages, we ask you how you would determine what would be a fair financial settlement. Our staff can make a sound argument to maximise your compensation.
Period for taking court actions
When you face unfair treatment, the court must receive a claim within 6 months minus one day from the date of the discrimination taking place. For employment-related discrimination, this is 3 months. Even though you do not claim within the time limit, your claim can still be accepted by the courts if the reason behind the delayed claim is fair and justifiable.
Legal aid
To check your eligibility, you can be in touch with the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) or Lestons Ltd who can determine whether payments can be granted to you for your court actions. You can also check your eligibility on the GOV.UK website at https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/overview
Court procedure
Unless problems remain unresolved after mediation then you can take legal actions in the civil courts. (County Court). You need to appreciate that there will be associated costs and that potentially you could be liable for the other sides costs, as well as your own should you lose.
Period for taking court actions
When you face unfair treatment, the court must receive a claim within 6 months minus one day from the date of the discrimination taking place. For employment-related discrimination, this is 3 months. Even if you do not claim within the time limit, your claim can still be accepted by the courts if the reason behind the delayed claim is fair and justifiable. If you are in any way unsure of the validity of your case, we would strongly suggest that you get a professional legal opinion before embarking on this course.
When to start your claim
You need to issue a claim form to start court proceedings. There is a payable fee to file the form. Before submitting a claim, you should consider the actual points you want to consider, such as: -
- Your reason behind taking court action;
- Why you believe that unlawful discrimination has taken place;
- Proof of meeting the key legal tests/standards set out in the Equality Act 2010;
- Your harm (to succeed in your claim it is vital to prove your disadvantage/harm);
- Any previous experience of discrimination against you; and/or
- Details (and ideally statements) relating to any witnesses.
Sources of evidence related to the unfair treatment
You should retain a list of all potential evidence related to the discrimination. This is helpful when you take an action in court. In addition, if discriminated against by an organisation you should retain copies of their equality policies.
How we can help
If you are not a client you can represent yourself at court, prior to this we would suggest you study all the employment law you can and prepare a paper that is given to court staff prior to the hearing the reason is to prevent you getting confused at the hearing itself. For obvious reasons we do not suggest this route and would guide you to employ ourselves or a solicitor to represent you.
On the assumption that you are already a client then your caseworker will investigate the potential level of success of your claim, whilst a final decision from the court could never be fully guaranteed their report on the potential points, and counter-points will give you a sound footing to decide as to your next step. Rather than rushing to court they may, with your consent be able to reopen negotiations to come to a fair outcome without involving the courts time (and associated costs). Should you wish to go to court then your caseworker will guide you through all the required steps and assist with the associated forms.
To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.
Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.