Constructive Dismissal and Sexual Discrimination

[RikMayall]

Hi

I am looking for some advice for my wife. It is a really long story so I’ll try not to go on too long but in short, my wife worked at a hair salon and after she fell pregnant with our first child her boss basically made it impossible for her to work there so she left. This was back in January. We decided to take her boss to a tribunal for Constructive Dismissal and Sexual Discrimination. Since then it has not been easy and she has received nasty text messages from her former boss (he didn't use his phone but it seems quite obvious who they are from). We have been trying to get this sorted through ACAS but they have basically said that they can't do anything else because he will not settle the case out of court. They have said it is our word against his but the guy from ACAS said that he has a good case because he has a lot of written statements, from whom we do not know. ACAS won't tell us who these statements are from but how can we defend ourselves against this if we don't know? They are all probably current employees of his that will be too afraid to not write statements or his family members that work for him. How can statements like these have any credibility? I'm guessing that not many employers decide to settle out of court when ACAS try and arrange it but they try and use scare tactics and then settle at the last minute (a bit like the banks!!). We are now quite scared about the whole situation because it could now be us that get punished and have to pay the court fees and maybe even compensation to him. I really don't want to let the 'bully' win but it just seems like everything is stacked against the 'little people'! This guy has made our lives hell, especially my wife’s. She is too afraid to leave the house alone at fear that she may bump into this person and has even had to have counselling. He has ruined our pregnancy and at the moment it seems like he is going to get away with it. If anyone can give us any advice I would be really grateful. If you need further information or if you are happy for me to tell you the full story than please let me know and i'll do my best to include all the details.

Thank You

One other thing, I know we could also of produced witness statements from his former employees but I think we are passed the date for when they can be sent in now. Is there anyway around this?

[RikMayall]

Can anyone help with this, we feel completely let down by ACAS and have no idea what to do now. Is there anywhere else that we can turn to now for support?

[Bookworm]

Have you done any research into ET and what happens there? There is nothing scarier than the unknown and if you know what to expect, it will help hugely.

I represented my husband in an ET case... gosh, 8 years ago! , and I was pooing myself, if truth be told. Anyway, what I did is check the local ET hearings, and went and sat in the public in one or two of them to familiarise myself, see how the panel dealt with both sides, etc. It reassured me no end, I have to tell you, and I can not recommend it highly enough.

Secondly, if you haven't yet, I suggest you familiarise yourself with the terms and the procedure here:

Employment Tribunal - The hearing

Next, what makes you think you would have to pay compensation if you lost? Even if a party wins their case they will only have their legal costs paid by their opponent in exceptional circumstances, for example where the other party brought or defended a case with no chance of them winning.

I really don't want to let the 'bully' win but it just seems like everything is stacked against the 'little people'!

No offence, but aren't you being over-dramatic? It's a hair salon, not the Microsoft Empire. And how is it being "stacked"? You will both have a chance to state your case in front of a panel, which will then decide whether your case is a valid one or not.

Read here for a simple explanation of what happens and how:

Employment Tribunals : Directgov - Employment

At the moment, you seem to be so scared that you have lost perspective of the fact that YOU stood your ground, YOU are fighting back and YOU shouldn't let the prospect frighten you.

So read, read, read some more. Stop behaving like a victim and start preparing to win so you and your wife can get on with your lives knowing you took on the bully and beat him down. If he's prepared to text and make false statements, that means he is even more scared or he wouldn't need to do this.

I can't guarantee what will happen in the tribunal, but what I know is that ETs often lean towards the employee anyway, especially when the employer brings in the big guns, solicitors and stuff.

And I'll tell you something else, when you win, the feeling is incredible. When I won my husband's case, I was so happy to see his ex-employer's face (and their solicitor! OMG!!! ) that I didn't even hear how much the ET was awarding us, and I had to wait until we got the court order!

So enough with the negative, get hold of that backbone that made you start down that path in the first place, and start acting to WIN.

Keep us updated.

[poppynurse]

Bear in mind the short time frame to go to tribunal...

[RikMayall]

Thanks very much for the re assurance and the advice

I am gonna do as much as i can to ensure we hurt this guy where it hurts him the most.... his pocket!! I'll look into the consequences also for what may happen if we lose, just so i can hopefully find something else to re assure me. I'm still a little worried that we could end up paying out because that is what the guy from ACAS told us.

Do you know if i can still put witness statements forward at this stage? We received a letter stating a final date for this sort of information and this has now passed but i didn't think we would require them as all we needed to do was tell the truth! A little naive i know, i just hope the employment tribunal will still let us give them witness statements because there are plenty of ex employees that will back us up and some that have also tried to take him to tribunal but backed out (also probably due to his bullying tactics!).

Thanks for your advice, really appreciate it

[butterfly123]

Hi

Myself and my wife are going through a case against her ex employer at the moment for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination on grounds of pregnancy. Tribunal hearing on the 30th and 31st of this month. It has been extremely scary but we have not given up. We now have the employer running scared (they are a big company) and they want to settle. We have a dilemma now is they have asked us to state a figure and we do not know what to say. Say too much and they say no or say too little and undercut ourselves. The other dilemma is our day in court to get satifaction of winning (although still a gamble) and becoming public record which means a lot to us. Our sollicitors have not been the greatest, most of leg work was done by me and my wife prior getting a solicitor, they even applauded what we had done. I do not know if it is because they are not personally involved but our passion, determination and anger is what has driven us.

We may still lose but to do nothing and do not try to fight is the biggest loss of them all. One person can make a difference.

We had lots of heart and head conflicts, due to commitments and dependants the question of money is always the biggest obstacle small or big. We were so angry with what had happened so our heart over ruled our head and ploughed us on. Money can always be managed but letting someone get away with something they should not then makes you as guilty of them for any future repeats of their actions.

I will let you know how we get on.

As for what time factor for tribunals, unfair dismissal i think is 6 months, sex discrimination is something like 7 years.

Good luck with yours.