Dealing with Discrimination at work - Q&As and Jargon Buster

Jargon Buster:

Employment Tribunal - The court where employment disputes are decided. Tribunals are more informal than other kinds of court.

Grievance - A concern, problem or complaint you have in relation to your work.

Harassment - A form of discrimination. It involves unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal behaviour relating to one of the types of discrimination listed on 'Discrimination' page.

Modified Grievance Procedure – The shorter grievance procedure you can use if you have left work and your employer has agreed to it in writing.

Statutory Grievance Procedure - The three-step procedure all workplaces must have for dealing with grievances which could be taken to a tribunal, such as discrimination grievances.

Victimisation - When you are treated badly at work because you have raised a grievance about discrimination or because you helped someone else to do so. Your boss is breaking the law if they treat you badly in this way.

Written Statement - If you have been in a job for longer than 2 months, you are entitled to a written statement which sets out the main terms and conditions of your employment. This will include things like your salary, hours, sick leave, and will also set out the grievance procedure, or tell you where you can find it.

My employment tribunal deadline is coming up and I am still waiting to hear the outcome of my appeal, what should I do?

Lawyerly woman
You do have to make every effort to go through the three-step procedure, but if it's going to run over your time limit, you can't afford to wait before making an application to a tribunal. If you are in this position, you should talk to an experienced adviser at your union or local advice agency.

What if I can't attend meetings?

If something happens which mean either you or your employer can't attend the meeting, your employer should arrange an alternative date. If the same thing happens again, you are entitled to abandon the statutory procedure and go directly to an employment tribunal. But be careful, employment tribunals won't look very kindly on attempts to avoid the procedure - your reason for not attending meetings must be very good and backed up with strong evidence.

My work has access to legal advice, do I need a solicitor?

You might feel disadvantaged if your work has a legal adviser. You can get advice from your union, local advice agency or law centre - but you are not entitled to bring a legal adviser with you to meetings.

Can I raise a grievance after I have left?

You can still raise a grievance after leaving your job. You may not have to go through the full three-step procedure if your work agrees in writing that you can use a shorter version. For the shorter version, you follow step 1 of the three-step procedure but request a written response rather than a meeting. If you are unhappy with the response or if you don't hear back in 28 days, you can make a claim at a tribunal.

The grievance procedure does not apply if you have been sacked. You should follow your work's dismissal procedure instead. You should get advice about this.

Do I always need to go through the three-step procedure before bringing a claim at an employment tribunal?

Not always, in certain exceptional circumstances you can skip the procedure and go directly to an employment tribunal. The most important exceptions in discrimination cases are:

Where you are complaining about harassment (sexual or other) and you believe raising a grievance will make the harassment intolerable. This has to be a very serious form of harassment.
Where someone behaves in such a violent or unpredictable manner that the other person cannot be expected to sit with them in a meeting.
Where you won't be able to complete the procedure in a reasonable time. For example, if your boss is on long-term sick leave.]It's advisable to check with an adviser if you think any exceptions might apply to your case.