Racial Discrimination - What you can do about discrimination

If you have been discriminated against, first think about what you want to be done. Depending on how you were discriminated against, you may want:

• your job back;
• compensation;
• an apology; or
• a clear sign that an individual or an organisation won’t discriminate in the same way in future.

Whatever you want, you must try to sort out the matter first with the person or organisation that has discriminated against or harassed you. If the problem is with your employer, this means you must use the organisation’s grievance procedure or make a written statement to the employer. If the problem is with a service provider, you must write to them with details of the complaint and what you want done (including the amount of any compensation you are seeking).

If this doesn’t get you what you want, you may be able to take your case to:

• an employment tribunal if it is about a job; or
• the county court.

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was set up by the government to promote racial equality. It can advise and help you if you have been discriminated against because of your race. You can also get help from:

• your union if you have one (if it is about a job);
• your local law centre;
• a Citizens Advice Bureau;
• your local Racial Equality Council; or
• a solicitor or adviser displaying the Community Legal Service logo.

See ‘Further help’ for how to contact these organisations.

The CRE can sometimes give you legal help to take your case to court, so that you don’t have to pay a solicitor to do this for you. To get this, you need to apply on a special form, available from the CRE. If it cannot give you legal representation, it may be able to put you in touch with other agencies or solicitors that deal with claims of discrimination.

If your case is about discrimination at work, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) may also be able to help. It can try and help you reach agreement with your employer (about a promotion or compensation, for example) without you having to go to a hearing. If you cannot reach agreement with your employer (or former employer), you can still take your case to an employment tribunal. However, there are time limits for doing this (see ‘Going to an employment tribunal’ right).

If the tribunal or court rules that you have been unlawfully discriminated against, it can award you compensation for:

• loss of earnings or other financial loss;
• injury to your feelings; and
• personal injury caused by the discrimination.

Going to an employment tribunal

If you want to make a complaint under the Race Relations Act, you must send your complaint either on form ET1 or in a letter to the Regional Office of Employment Tribunals. You can get this form from:

• Jobcentres;
• the CRE; or
• a local employment tribunal.

You must make your complaint within three months, less one day, from the date when the discrimination first happened. If you use the employer’s internal grievance procedure, the time limit is six months less one day. However, you must give your employer at least one month to resolve your grievance before taking a complaint to the tribunal, so you should complain to your employer as soon as you can.

The cost of going to a tribunal is low. The employment tribunal will decide whether you have suffered discrimination. It may also consider whether it is reasonable to make a claim. Even if you lose your case, you will not have to pay the other side’s costs unless the tribunal decides your claim was unreasonable.

If you do want to take a complaint to an employment tribunal, you would normally send a special form, called a ‘Section 65’ questionnaire, to the employer. You can get this form from:

• Jobcentres;
• your local benefits office; or
• the CRE.

The form lets you ask the employer about the treatment you received. For example, if you believe that you didn’t get a job because of your race, you can ask the employer for details of the selection procedures and of the qualifications and experience of the person who got the job, to see how they compare with your own. You can also ask about the racial group of the person who got the job.

You must send the form to the employer within three months of when you first knew about the discrimination, or no more than 21 days after your complaint was received by the employment tribunal.

You don’t have to use the Section 65 procedure, but it could help your case. The employer doesn’t legally have to reply to the questionnaire form, but if they don’t, the tribunal could decide that the employer discriminated against you. If you do use the procedure you can still go ahead with your complaint or withdraw it before the tribunal deals with your case.

You or the employer can appeal against the tribunal’s decision to the Employment Appeals Tribunal within 42 days after that decision. You can appeal only if the tribunal did not apply the law correctly, not because you think the tribunal’s decision was unfair.

Going to court

If you want to take a case to a county court, you must start your case within six months less one day from the date when you first knew about the discrimination. There are specially selected courts for dealing with discrimination cases, which can give you copies of the claim form (N1) and more information about procedures. You should be able to get details of courts that deal with discrimination cases from

• any county court; or
• the CRE.

How will I pay for my case?

If you are claiming less than £5,000, your case can be dealt with fairly simply and cheaply on the ‘small claims track’. If you do this, you won’t need a solicitor to represent you, but you should get advice before starting your claim.

If you are claiming more than £5,000, you need to think carefully about how you will pay for your case, because the costs can be very high. If you cannot afford to pay for court action yourself, there are several ways you may be able to pay for your case:

• The CRE may take on your case as a ‘test case’.
• You may be able to get funding from the Community Legal Service (formerly called Legal Aid), provided you meet certain conditions.
• You may be able to find a solicitor who will take on your case under a ‘no-win, no-fee’ agreement.

The Human Rights Act

The Human Rights Act 1998 protects against a wide range of discrimination – including many types that are not covered by other discrimination laws. However, you can use it only where an organisation’s action or decision breaches one of your rights under this Act, such as the right to ‘respect for private and family life’.

Also, rights under the Human Rights Act can only be claimed against a public authority (for example, the police, a local council or the Benefits Agency) and not a private company. However, courts and tribunals deciding on discrimination cases must take the Human Rights Act into account when they make decisions.

Further help

Community Legal Service Direct

Provides free information direct to the public on a range of common legal problems.

Call 0845 345 4 345

If you qualify for legal aid, get free advice from a specialist legal adviser about benefits and tax credits, debt, education, employment or housing. Also find a high quality local legal adviser or solicitor.

Click www.clsdirect.org.uk

Find a high quality local legal adviser or solicitor, link to other online information and see if you qualify for legal aid using our calculator.

Commission for Racial Equality (CRE)

phone: 020 7939 0000

www.cre.gov.uk

For your nearest Racial Equality Council, contact the Commission for Racial Equality or see the phone book.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)

To find your nearest public inquiry point

phone: 08457 47 47 47

www.acas.org.uk

Advisory Centre for Education (ACE)

For advice about racial discrimination at school

phone: 0808 800 5793

www.ace-ed.org.uk

Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

For the leaflet ‘Social Inclusion: Pupil Support Circular 10/99’

phone: 0845 6022260 or download it from:

www.dfes.gov.uk

This leaflet is published by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). It was written in association with the Commission for Racial Equality