Proactive support when faced with a claim for sex discrimination and harassment
The Client
Our client is a manufacturing and design company with 20 employees.
The Problem
Our client was faced with a formal complaint, made to an Employment Tribunal, for sex discrimination and harassment. The client had been slow to respond and missed the original legal deadline for the response form, an ET3, to be submitted and had therefore been granted an extension of time. However, with no on-site support for the immediate drafting of the ET3, they were completely at a loss on how to proceed.
The employee had also claimed that the actions detailed in the formal complaint accounted to a criminal act and the company’s director was extremely worried for both their own and the business’ reputations and the damage an allegation such as this could bring.
The Solution
The immediate problem was meeting the deadline for the response which, even with the extension, was only days away.
The People Connection appointed a specialist in this area who prepared an outline ET3 for review and ensured our client’s defence covered all legal areas. We then applied for and gained a stay on the Tribunal case on the grounds that the pursuit of a criminal case would unfairly prejudice any case in the Employment Tribunal.
We arranged an on-site visit where we prepared and finalised the witness statements and the trial bundle, ensuring all the finer details were covered. We ensured the process was managed correctly and provided advice on the client’s defence in a measured and focused way.
The Outcome
The case has run for over 12 months due, in part, to the ongoing pressures on the Tribunal Service, where claims are taking much longer to be heard. However, ongoing support provided by The People Connection has allowed the client to focus on running their business and whilst they clearly still need to be involved in the process, they are confident everything that can be done to defend this claim is being done.
Our client appointed The People Connection to help and advise them on this specific assignment.