01925 937070 
Bullying and/or harassment of any kind should not be tolerated. However, despite being fairly common in the workplace many people are reluctant to pursue a claim for fear of making the situation at work worse, losing their job or being ‘blacklisted’ for bringing a claim. This means that some people will leave their employment out of desperation or will put up with the harassment. 
 
It is important if you are in this situation to consider your options. Below you will find some case studies and links to provide you with further information. If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of being bullied or harassed at work contact us to find out if you have a claim. 
 
Case Study One 
 
We were approached by a young woman (whom we will call ‘Miss W’) whose employer had asked her to enter into a settlement agreement which stated that she would agree to resign in exchange for payment of her salary, payment in lieu of notice, outstanding holiday pay and a small amount of compensation. 
When we met with Miss W she instructed us that she had been offered a settlement agreement by her employer because she had made an allegation that she had been sexually harassed at work by a senior manager. 
 
Specifically, the allegations were that the male manager had made suggestive comments to her and had made inappropriate physical contact of a sexual nature with her against her will. 
 
Understandably Miss W did not wish to return to her job and therefore we contacted her employer and negotiated a substantial compensation payment for her (free of tax) in addition to a Reference and her contractual benefits. 
 
Case Study Two 
 
We acted for a client who was sexually harassed whilst working for a firm of solicitors. She alleged that a senior member of staff had sexually harassed her during a Christmas works night out. She raised a grievance which did not resolve the problem as the employer’s solution was for HR to arrange for the parties to engage in mediation, and thereafter for our client to return to work with the same manager. 
 
This was simply not possible as our client felt that she could not face returning to the workplace as the relationship between her and her employer had been damaged beyond repair. 
 
We were able to negotiate a clean break between the parties with a very substantial settlement figure being agreed. 
 
News 
 
It can be daunting to bring a claim against your employer especially if they are a legal practice, but such claims are not as uncommon as you may think. 
 
No Win No Fee Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace 
 
The cost of bringing a claim in the employment tribunal can run into several thousand pounds. Fortunately, advice is available if you find yourself in this situation and it is possible to bring a claim in the employment tribunal either with legal expense insurance or on a no win no fee basis. 
 
Advice and Support for Bullying and Sexual Harassment 
 
For a free initial confidential discussion call us on 01925 937070 or email Diane Massey at:- 
dianemassey@dsmlegal.co.uk 
 
It is crucial that you do not leave it too long before taking advice as time limits in the employment tribunal are notoriously short. Employment tribunal proceedings must be issued within 3 months less 1 day of the last alleged act of discrimination/dismissal. You should ensure that you take legal advice to ascertain the precise date of limitation as they can sometimes be difficult to work out due to individual circumstances. 
 
General information about what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace and time limits can be found at https://www.acas.org.uk/sexual-harassment 
This content will only be shown when viewing the full post. Click on this text to edit it. 
Share this post:

Leave a comment: 

Our site uses cookies. For more information, see our cookie policy. Accept cookies and close
Reject cookies Manage settings