Employment Claims for Employees

Constructive Dismissal

Constructive dismissal may arise where an employee resigns in response to a serious breach of contract by the employer.

Examples may include:

• a substantial reduction in pay without agreement;
• serious bullying or harassment;
• failure to address a formal grievance;
• unjustified demotion;
• discriminatory treatment;
• imposing fundamental changes to duties or working arrangements;
• failure to provide a safe working environment; or
• conduct that destroys trust and confidence.

Not every workplace disagreement or contractual breach will justify resignation. The employee must generally show a fundamental breach and that the resignation was in response to it. Delay may be treated as acceptance of the employer’s conduct.

Resigning is a significant step. The legal and financial consequences should be considered carefully before a resignation is submitted.

Discrimination at Work

Discrimination is unlawful where it relates to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Protected characteristics include:

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;
• race;
• religion or belief;
• sex; and
• sexual orientation.

Employment discrimination claims may concern:

• direct discrimination;
• indirect discrimination;
• harassment;
• victimisation;
• pregnancy and maternity discrimination; or
• failure to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person.

Claims may arise during recruitment, employment, promotion, disciplinary proceedings, redundancy, dismissal or after employment has ended.

Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination

An employer must not treat an employee unfavourably because of pregnancy, pregnancy-related illness, maternity leave or the exercise of maternity rights.

Examples may include:

• dismissal after announcing a pregnancy;
• exclusion from promotion or training;
• unjustified reduction of duties or hours;
• pressure to resign;
• failure to deal properly with workplace health and safety;
• redundancy selection influenced by pregnancy or maternity leave; or
• unfavourable treatment on return from maternity leave.

Depending on the circumstances, compensation may include financial loss and an award for injury to feelings.

Sexual Harassment at Work

Sexual harassment can include unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Examples may include:

• sexual comments or jokes;
• inappropriate messages or images;
• unwanted touching;
• sexual propositions;
• comments about appearance;
• intrusive questions about a person’s private life; or
• retaliation after advances are rejected or a complaint is made.

Harassment may occur in person, online, at work-related events or through workplace messaging platforms.

Whistleblowing

Legal protection may apply where a worker makes a qualifying disclosure in the public interest and is then dismissed or subjected to a detriment.

A protected disclosure may concern:

• a criminal offence;
• breach of a legal obligation;
• a miscarriage of justice;
• danger to health and safety;
• environmental damage; or
• the deliberate concealment of wrongdoing.

Whistleblowing claims can be legally and factually complex. Different requirements apply depending on what was disclosed, to whom it was disclosed and how the worker was treated afterwards.

Pay and Employment Contract Disputes

Blackstar Law also assists employees with claims and disputes relating to:

• unpaid salary;
• unpaid commission or bonuses;
• holiday pay;
• notice pay;
• unauthorised deductions from wages;
• changes to working hours or duties;
• contractual benefits;
• restrictive covenants;
• confidentiality obligations;
• notice periods; and
• breaches of express or implied contractual terms.

The correct forum for a contractual claim will depend on its nature, value and whether employment has ended.

Settlement Agreements

A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract under which an employee usually agrees not to pursue specified employment claims in return for compensation or other benefits.

For an agreement to validly waive statutory employment claims, the employee must receive advice from an independent adviser who meets the statutory requirements.

Blackstar Law can advise on:

• whether the proposed compensation is reasonable;
• notice and holiday pay;
• bonus and commission;
• tax treatment;
• confidentiality provisions;
• post-termination restrictions;
• agreed references;
• internal and external announcements; and
• proposed termination arrangements.

Where appropriate, negotiations may be undertaken to seek improved financial or non-financial terms.

No Win No Fee Funding

Blackstar Law will assess the evidence, value and circumstances of your case. If the case is considered to have reasonable prospects of success, funding may be offered under a No Win No Fee arrangement.

If the claim succeeds, Blackstar Law will charge 25% of any financial settlement or award recovered. If the claim is unsuccessful, no fee will be charged for the legal work covered by the arrangement.

The full terms, including the treatment of VAT, expenses, disbursements and any liability for another party’s costs, will be explained before the agreement is signed. No Win No Fee funding is subject to case assessment and is not available for every claim.