I would like to know if I have a case against my employer,

Hello. I am Ed, a Solicitor qualified in England and Wales with over a decade’s experience in the legal profession advising clients.

I specialise in Commercial Contracts, Business Transactions, Employment, Dispute Resolution, Personal Injury and Road Traffic Law and shall be reviewing your legal problem today.

I shall be delighted to talk with you by phone to discuss your issue in greater detail if you accept the site’s automatic offer of a Premium Service Phone Call.

I am sorry that you are facing a potential dispute with your employer over your mental health condition but hopefully I can assist you in resolving the matter before it escalates and you are forced to incur significant further legal costs.

I shall be delighted to speak to you today if you accept the site’s automatic offer.

Any additional charges for a Premium Service Phone Call are displayed with the site’s option.

To decide if you want a Premium Service Phone Call, I am happy to provide my answer by text on the Portal first. Once you have considered my written answer, you may then accept the offer of a Premium Service Phone Call.

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As you have over two years’ continuous employment, then you may lodge a Claim with the Regional Employment Tribunal for Unfair Dismissal if you are Dismissed or forced to leave your job because of the way your employer has treated you, which is a Constructive Dismissal.

Your employer must follow a fair Disciplinary and Investigation procedure before they decide to dismiss you.

However, if you have been Dismissed or Constructively Dismissed based on an Inadmissible Reason, then the Dismissal will be Automatically Unfair regardless of the length of your Employment. Inadmissible Reasons for Dismissal include Dismissal on the basis of a Protected Characteristic (Age, Disability, Race, Religion or Belief, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Marriage/Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity, Gender Reassignment), for making a Disclosure In The Public Interest to a Prescribed Person within your Employer or external Regulatory Body (i.e. “Whistleblowing”), Trade Union membership or activities, asserting a statutory right under section 104 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (“ERA”) or for a health and safety reason under section 100 of the ERA.

In Discrimination and Whistleblowing cases, in addition to the Basic and Compensatory Awards for Unfair Dismissal, you may also claim Damages for Detriment and Injury to Feelings.

A Claimant employee has three months from the Effective Date of Dismissal, or the Discrimination or Detrimental Act complained of to lodge a Claim Form ET1 with the Regional Employment Tribunal. This is a very brief time limit which is strictly enforced. I therefore recommend that you act as quickly as possible by instructing specialist employment solicitors to protect your position and advise you fully on your prospects of success.

You must also notify the Government’s free and impartial employment dispute advisory service: the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (“ACAS”) to commence the compulsory Early Conciliation Process (“ECP”). ACAS are not a firm of solicitors or legal aid providers, but they will attempt to facilitate an early settlement between the parties without the need for Tribunal Proceedings.

During the ECP, the three month-limitation period to issue a Claim Form ET1 is suspended. If ECP fails, ACAS will issue the parties with a Certificate which will give the Claimant at least one month from the date of the Certificate (depending on the timings) to issue a Claim Form ET1.

Your employers should schedule a “Return to Work” meeting with you in order to discuss the issues and any reasonable adjustments that need to be made to accommodate your illness and prevent a repeat of it.

Arguably, the closest claim for “Occupational Stress” an employee can bring against an employer is a claim for Discrimination on the grounds of a Disability under the Equality Act after the employee has been diagnosed with Depression, Bipolar Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder following their employer’s treatment of them.

A Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial” and “long-term” (i.e., 12 months or more) negative effect on the employee’s ability to do normal daily activities. You or your Employer will need to obtain expert medical evidence to ascertain whether your medical condition amounts to a Disability.

Your employer has a duty of care to ensure a safe working environment under health and safety law. You may assert a statutory right, assert a safe workplace and report (“blow the whistle”) on unsafe working practises to your employer internally or the Health and Safety Executive (or other relevant state criminal or civil police and regulatory body), which may give rise to an Employment Tribunal Claim or a civil claim for breach of contract if your employer fails in their duty towards you or subjects you to a detriment or dismisses you for reporting such issues.

I hope this is a satisfactory initial reply to your question and you understand my recommendations. Please revert to me if you do not understand anything and require clarification of my answer and I shall be delighted to assist.

I can also offer a Premium Service Consultation for an additional fee if you need detailed and bespoke legal advice. If you accept, I will pass you my direct email address and phone number. I can review any relevant documentation and consult with you by telephone for around 20 minutes. This will give you a clearer picture of your legal position and your potential options for progressing the matter to the next stage.

Kind regards

LawyerEd