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Month: May 2024

Discriminated because of your sexuality? You may have an Employment Tribunal Claim – Know your rights!

Posted on by Mike

If you have been faced with homophobic or transphobic comments from your employer or co-worker, it is important to understand that the law is on your side. The Equality Act 2010 provides a firm legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, and you may have grounds for an employment tribunal claim.

Understanding Your Rights

The Equality Act 2010 provides employees with protection against discriminatory acts from employers based on sexual orientation or gender reassignment. This means that if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, you have the legal right to work in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

There are various discrimination claims you can bring against your employer, with the most common ones being Direct Discrimination, Indirect Discrimination, Harassment and Victimisation.

How do I know if the treatment I have suffered amounts to discrimination?

This is often the crux of discrimination claims, as there aren’t any set rules to qualify what discriminatory behaviour actually is.

As a rule, if you believe that you have been treated differently when comparing to another co-worker in a similar situation, but with a different sexual orientation, this is likely to amount to Direct Discrimination.

Discriminated because of your sexuality?

Inappropriate comments or remarks are also likely to be classed as Direct Discrimination. As an example, in the case of Austin v Samuel Grant (North East) Ltd, a heterosexual male employee won a sexual orientation claim. In this case, the Claimant’s colleagues had asked him whether or not he liked football, to which the Claimant stated that he was not interested. His colleagues then stated “you are gay then”.

Even if you are treated exactly the same as other colleagues who have a different sexual orientation, this may still be classed as Indirect Discrimination. This would happen when your employer has a particular policy or way of working that applies equally to everyone, but which puts people of a particular characteristic at a disadvantage.

What about “Banter” in the workplace?

In the recent case of Mrs M Fleming v McGill Facilities Management Ltd, the Claimant had asked her employer about the seating arrangements in the new office space, and was told that it was ‘boy-girl-boy-girl’. The Claimant pointed out that this was inappropriate, and instead requested to be near a colleague with whom she previously worked closely. She was then told by her employer that “you dykes sit at the top”.

The Claimant then resigned and made a claim for Constructive Unfair Dismissal and Sexual Orientation Discrimination, and the employer was ordered to pay a total of £15,460 in compensation.

This particular case comes as The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 is due to come into force in October 2024. The amendment on the act places a new, positive obligation on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ in all cases to prevent sexual harassment of its employees during the course of their employment.

Steps to Take

If you believe that you have been discriminated against by your employer, it is essential to take the following actions:

  1. Keep a detailed record of incidents, including dates, times, locations, what was said and whether there were any witnesses.

  2. Report the issue to your employer through their internal grievance procedure.

  3. Seek legal advice. At Lawson West, we have a dedicated employment law team specialising in Discrimination claims, and we will be able to advise you on your options.

How we can help

If you believe that you have suffered unfair treatment due to your conditions from your employer, we can help you. We may be able to offer you a No Win No Fee agreement, and we also provide a variety of other funding arrangements to assist you with pursuing a claim.

Our Employment Law team is well-versed and experienced in Discrimination matters, therefore, if you believe you have been treated unfairly by your employer due to your sexual orientation, do not hesitate to contact Lawson West Solicitors. Please contact us on telephone 00116 212 1000 or alternatively fill in the free Contact Us form and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

Pensions in Divorce

Posted on by Mike

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) updated their guidance on pension sharing orders in January of this year.

Pensions are essential financial assets that should be considered as part of any divorce, and in reality, pension values can often outweigh the value of other assets which divorcing couples focus on, such as the family home.

Statistics show that a high percentage of women omit to consider pension claims in their divorces, with many being unaware that pension division is available to them, either by way of a Pension Sharing Order or Pension Offsetting against other assets. This can occur in circumstances when divorcing couples do their own “DIY divorce”.

Senior Associate Family Solicitor, Alistair Dobson, comments:

“Considering pension division in divorce to address the disparity in pension values is important, particularly when in lots of cases women have lower pension funds or even no pensions at all, either because they have been out of the workplace looking after children, or because of the gender pay gap.”

If you are facing divorce and want to know if your partner’s pension pot can be drawn into the negotiation, without harming your own financial interests, then please contact the Family team here. We can make an assessment of your financial structures and advise accordingly.

Call our expert Family Team on 00116 212 1000

How much should a Will cost?

Posted on by Mike

We have been going through a cost of living crisis for almost a year, and if you’ve been thinking about making a Will for some time then you may also have been wondering what the process and the cost would be. If you have already obtained quotes from a few firms, you might be surprised at the difference in price between providers.

It’s a little known fact that anyone can be paid to draft a Will – you don’t have to be a solicitor, and you don’t have to have any qualifications or experience!

Solicitor or Legal Executive (“lawyer”) drafted Wills are considered the ‘gold standard’ by experts like Martin Lewis, and costs tend to range from £250 to £500 for a straightforward Will. The price will depend on things like the size of the firm you use (smaller firms tend to be cheaper) and your location.

Will writers (who are usually non-lawyers) tend to charge a similar amount, particularly if they have years of experience. You should be wary of very cheap or very expensive Wills, as these are often offered by people with no knowledge of this area of the law. 

“Who should I use?”

One of the most important factors in the cost of a professionally prepared Will is the amount of experience and the qualifications of the drafter.

Lawyers have gone through years of education and rigorous exams to become qualified. It takes almost as long to qualify as a lawyer as it does to become a doctor, which goes some way towards explaining why legal professionals cost much more than a DIY Will pack from a high street shop.

When using a Will Writer, the quality of work varies hugely between individuals and providers. It is vital that you check for things like the qualifications and experience of the person preparing the Will, and whether the person or firm has professional indemnity insurance if something goes wrong. When using a qualified lawyer, this protection is guaranteed.

With qualified lawyers, you could also complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or CILEX Regulation if your lawyer was not competent to prepare your Will. You do not have this recourse when using an unqualified Will Writer.

Summary:

The difference in cost between a Lawyer and a Will Writer can be negligible, and you should be wary of anyone charging significantly more or less than the figure mentioned (unless your Will contains something more complex, for example a trust structure, which will increase the cost).

When preparing a Will, you are paying for the experience and often the qualifications of the drafter. You pay for the peace of mind that the document will be valid and do exactly what you want it to do. Please bear that in mind the next time you see a Will offered for £99 – it is normally too good to be true!

If you are interested in making a Will please contact us on: 00116 212 1000

Lawson West’s client on “mission to break the cycle of homelessness”

Posted on by Mike

Action Homeless, a client of Lawson West’s, is a thriving local charity and social enterprise committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness in Leicestershire.

They have been based in Leicester for 50 years and help individuals and families from across the city and county. Last year alone, they provided emergency housing and specialist support to 463 people and helped 139 people move into permanent and secure homes.

Action Homeless is delighted to be taking over ownership of seven properties in Leicester from The Riverside Group. The houses, already under management of the charity, will continue to provide homes for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The Riverside Group and Action Homeless have worked in partnership for over thirty years to provide much needed homes for people affected by insecure housing and homelessness.

One of the properties being purchased by the charity, provides refuge for women and children who’ve lost their homes as a result of domestic abuse. It has enabled hundreds of families to rebuild their lives and is home to a specialist project which helps young children to recover from trauma and homelessness. The other properties offer individuals, who have faced homelessness, with a safe place to live whilst being supported to achieve and sustain a more secure and permanent home. Situated in a range of neighbourhoods across the city, the homes will support Action Homeless in its mission to break the cycle of homelessness.

Head of Commercial, Rebecca Beswick, comments:

“To be able to say that Lawson West assisted in the pursuit of tackling homelessness is a great achievement for all involved. It is a privilege to be able to aid such a good cause, not only in assisting them in this transaction, but also throughout the year as one of our chosen charities we support through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme.”

Mark Grant, CEO of Action Homeless, said:

“The opportunity to purchase these properties, which have played such an important role in our response to homelessness over the years, provides security for Action Homeless and the people who we support. Having a good range of housing in our portfolio is essential if we are to meet the rising demand for our services. We are grateful to Riverside Housing for their partnership and good will which has meant we have been able to help so many people facing crisis and will continue to do so long into the future.”

Action Homeless are proud signatories of Leicester’s Homelessness Charter

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