Workplace Discrimination Solicitor Claims & Representation

The Act covers direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and discrimination by association, where you are treated less favourably because of someone else’s protected characteristic, such as caring for a disabled family member. For disability specifically, there are two additional forms: failure to make reasonable adjustments, where your employer does not take steps to remove a disadvantage you face because of your disability, and discrimination arising from disability, where you are treated unfavourably because of something connected to your disability rather than the disability itself.

Three months less one day from the last discriminatory act. Before you can issue a tribunal claim, you must notify ACAS and complete Early Conciliation, which pauses the clock while it runs. If there is a continuing pattern of discriminatory acts, time can run from the most recent one, but this is fact-specific and not something to rely on without advice. Tribunals only extend time in limited circumstances, so acting as soon as something happens, rather than waiting to see how things develop, is always the safer approach.

Discrimination compensation is uncapped, which makes it significantly different from ordinary unfair dismissal. It has two main components. First, financial loss covering past and future lost earnings, pension contributions and benefits you have been denied. Second, an injury to feelings award under the Vento bands. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, the lower band runs from £1,300 to £12,600 for less serious cases, the middle band from £12,600 to £37,700, and the upper band from £37,700 to £62,900 for the most serious cases. Exceptional cases can exceed £62,900. Aggravated damages may also be available where your employer acted maliciously or with deliberate intent to cause you further distress.

Many discrimination claims settle before a full hearing, and settlement can happen at any stage, through ACAS Early Conciliation, direct negotiation between solicitors, or judicial mediation. A settlement can include financial compensation, an agreed reference, confidentiality terms, a non-disparagement clause, and other exit protections. David’s view is that settlement on the right terms is usually a better outcome than a hearing, which is stressful, unpredictable and public. But where an employer will not engage properly, taking a claim to a hearing is sometimes the only way to get a fair result, and David represents clients through to that point where it is needed.

The most useful evidence is anything that shows how you were treated compared to colleagues without your protected characteristic in similar situations, known as comparator evidence. Emails, messages, meeting notes or internal documents that suggest the real reason for the treatment can all matter. So can a timeline of incidents: dates, what was said or done, who was present, records of any complaints you raised and how your employer responded, and any written communications that reveal their thinking. Discrimination is rarely admitted openly. Building a pattern is usually more important than finding a single document that settles the question. David advises on what to gather and how to preserve it before you lose access to your work systems.