Employer tribunal

There is actually a free helpline you can call about work and legal issues.... I was given the number a while ago and wrote it down somewhere (and haven't found it again yet)- I will try and find it when I have a bit more time, or maybe if you google you can also find it... I rang them and they were helpful. It is confidential. 

Also section 15 and reasonable adjustments at work generally only apply when your employer know you are disabled so it’s worth disclosing that at the negotiation stage pre tribunal #notlegaladvice

One thing I do know is that if you don’t raise your disability and any potential discrimination as an issue at the tribunal it will be very hard to raise it as an issue at any appeal. Although even an appeal won’t generally look at new evidence (like an assessment that comes after the tribunal) except in exception cases. #notlegaladvice

I didn't have a solicitor, i went to place like Citizens Advice, and they told me Courts are quite understanding that you're the little boy, standing up in front of the bad boy. On the bench there were 3 judges listening to our stories. I think the main one was a solicitor of some sort, and knew the law. The other 2 i think, were volunteers, One came from the business sector, and so probably swayed towards my boss, the last one was perhaps a Union man and swayed towards me. So i never felt bullied. When they decided towards me they asked, do you feel confident enough to come to a fair agreement, if not we'll step-in and order what must be done, This MD wasn't in Court only my old boss, the accountant, who i thought of as a friend, and he'd brought the company solicitor with him.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. Luckily it is blatantly obvious (even to an absolute idiot!) that he’s broken employment law and discriminated against me. I have too much evidence, and unfortunately for him he’s too cocky and probably didn’t think I’d ever take it this far, so has been very lax in his behaviour towards me. I will look into a solicitor. Although I believe I have such a strong case that I’m unsure if I’ll need one!

I’m hoping I won’t have to go to tribunal to be honest, but you never know. My employer (now ex employer) is very stubborn, but there is no way he can think he will get away with what he’s done. He has blatantly broken employment law, he would have to be an absolute fool to think he can get away with it. Anyway, thank you for this. I hadn’t thought of getting a private diagnoses before hand - I’ll look into it!

I took my employer to court many many years ago now, perhaps over 40yrs, for unfair dismissal. Place i worked was a family business started generations earlier. So the man who was the MD, knew the day he was born that one day, all this will be yours ....... ( a bit like the Queen and Charlie). It wasn't a happy office, many started and left, you could feel it. One day we were all called into the boardroom and this MD asked .... 'What is wrong' Everyone knew what was wrong, but nobody spoke up. I'm always the quiet one, i don't speak, but eventually when nobody else speaking, I said ...... it's you Mr.M.  you have a bad attitude towards workers. The meeting broke up, he said he'd consider what i'd said. My boss, the accountant called me into office and said, .... why did you say that, you're an idiot. His great-grandfather started this place and he'd have you put in the stocks, if you'd spoke out of turn. My boss said to me, you know what you've done don't you. you've just handed your notice in, you may aswell take your P45 now, He said, you mark my words, he'll bide his time and have you out. About 12mths later i was redundant, took them for unfair dismissal and won, but took compensation rather than my job back, i didn't  want to work the there. Looking back on that boardroom meeting 40yrs ago i wonder ...... was i always autistic but never knew ?  The MD had asked a question ..... what was wrong, everyone else in the room kept their mouths closed, but i told the truth as i saw it, in business politcs you sometimes have to lie.

Hi there, I took my employer to employment tribunal for discrimination. PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE RULE  that Discrimination claims must (usually) be brought to the employment tribunal within three months of ANY discriminatory ACT occurring. Employers know this and will try to make any act "out of time" by delaying meetings etc. The one thing I will say you need is a Solicitor, and they need to be able to present your case at the tribunal.You should tell your employer and make sure you have a witness - that you are seeking an autism diagnosis and tell them what your difficulties are. ACAS are there to save money being spent from the public purse, they are not "there for you", however you will need to complete the ACAS requirements to go forward into a tribunal. Tribunals are about your employer breaking the law and you proving it, so it is not easy.

Do you know yet how long it will be until you would have to go to tribunal? Depending on how long you have you could try to get a diagnosis before then privately if you think that would help? Not sure if it worth it. I was diagnosed through Sara Heath: Autonomy Plus - Pre-Diagnostic (shropshireautonomy.co.uk) . She does the pre-diagnostic assessment, if she thinks you are autistic, you can make an appointment with a consultant psychiatrist that she works with who will then have access to her report and do an assessment. I am not sure how long the wait times are at the moment, I think possibly around 3 months for the whole process but you would need to ask as it might change (For me the situation was a little different as I was moving countries a lot and ended up having the prediagnostic assessment while abroad and only realised later when moving back to the Uk that I could use this to receive a formal diagnosis). I think it is relatively affordable for a private assessment and I had a good experience. Not sure if this is helpful but I just wanted to mention it in case this might be an option for you.