What is a Discrimination Settlement Agreement?
Discrimination settlement agreements typically involve individuals agreeing to waive their rights to pursue any related claims in an employment tribunal.
There are various types of discrimination claims which may be brought in the Employment Tribunal. These include sex, age, sexuality, race, religion or belief, nationality and/or disability discrimination.
Claims resulting from acts or omissions that lead to less favourable treatment on prohibited grounds must be filed within three months from the date of the incident. These claims may be brought to the Employment Tribunal. It is possible to recover both financial losses as well as a sum attributable to your injury to feelings.
The financial losses are unlimited, unlike unfair dismissal claims which contain a statutory limit.
Proving your employment discrimination settlement agreement claim
To obtain an employment discrimination settlement agreement claim, you must show that you have been treated less favourably than a comparator. This is for a prohibited reason or on a prohibited ground.
If you believe that a discrimination claim may have arisen before or as a result of you being offered the discrimination settlement agreement, you should advise your solicitor accordingly.
It is for your instructed solicitor to factor that into his or her thinking when advising you on your employment discrimination settlement agreement. This will have a significant impact on whether or not you should sign the settlement agreement or whether you should consider negotiating the sums being offered to you under that agreement.
A discrimination claim can result in unlimited damages. If compelling evidence supports such a claim, you may need to negotiate the terms of the settlement agreement. This negotiation can help you leverage an increase in the settlement offer.
Your solicitor advising you on the discrimination settlement agreement can advise you accordingly.
Types of discrimination
Discrimination primarily comes in two forms: firstly direct discrimination and secondly indirect discrimination.
Direct discrimination
This is where an employee can argue that a comparator is being treated more favourably than they are. The reason for this less favourable treatment that they are suffering is a prohibited reason.
Indirect discrimination
This refers to a situation where an employer’s rule or practice negatively affects people with protected characteristics more than others.
For example, a provision which is causing less favourable treatment to be suffered by working mothers could be regarded as indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of one sex.
In addition, a criterion or practice which requires employees to work on days normally reserved for religious observance could be considered discriminatory based on religion or belief.
Written grievance
Employees who believe that they may have been subjected to discriminatory treatment would be advised to issue a formal written grievance. This is under the ACAS code of practice governing workplace disputes.
It will require their employer to instigate a formal process to address their concerns. This includes investigating those concerns and setting up a meeting to discuss the concerns. Then there will be a written conclusion issued with reasons for that conclusion together with the right of appeal.
If an employee remains unhappy following the conclusion of a formal grievance process, they are at liberty to issue a claim in the employment tribunal. This must be done within three months of the date of the alleged act or omission which they say gives rise to a claim of discrimination.
Before you sign
Before signing a discrimination settlement agreement, individuals should make sure that they provide full details of any discriminatory treatment they have been subjected to by their legal adviser.
The legal advisor must evaluate the merit and value of any discrimination claims under a discrimination settlement agreement. They need to assess if the compensation offered is adequate, especially since their client will be giving up the right to pursue these claims further.
Employers often prefer to settle valid discrimination claims quietly to avoid the negative attention that comes with public legal battles in employment tribunals.
Help with your discrimination settlement agreement
Are you facing discrimination in the workplace? Don’t navigate this alone. At DPH Legal, we specialise in securing fair outcomes through discrimination settlement agreements. Whether your claim involves issues of race, sex, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic, we are here to help.