Employment Law and Disability Discrimination Resources Published

The University of Strathclyde Law Clinic is proud to announce the completion of two public legal education projects to assist individuals representing themselves at the Employment Tribunal.

(Disability Discrimination Project Coordinators: Zoe Law and Eilidh Campbell)

The vast majority (59% in the last reporting period) of the Law Clinic’s advice and assistance cases concern employment law. Employment cases by their very nature are more complex than most of the other cases we deal with. Time limits are shorter and there are generally more procedural requirements. In terms of volunteer student time Employment cases require a substantially greater number of hours per case.

Subsequently, the Law Clinic does not have the resources to represent every individual who approaches us for assistance. The Employment Law Project aims to address this gap by providing the public with a step-by-step guide consisting of clear, practical advice on how to raise a claim in the Employment Tribunal. It covers everything from how to raise a grievance at work to how evidence is heard at a final hearing.

The Law Clinic has seen an increasing number of disability discrimination cases each year (disability discrimination cases making up 19.1% of all employment cases over the last reporting period). Furthermore, many facing discrimination are vulnerable and need additional support in managing their cases through the tribunal process. Therefore, the Disability Discrimination Project is aimed at providing more detailed information in order to assist employees who might raise a claim of disability discrimination against their employer. This area of the law is very complex and so the resources provide an explanation of the law in this area and aspects of Tribunal procedure which are unique to disability discrimination cases.

All resources are now available to access, free of charge, on the Law Clinic website here: https://www.lawclinic.org.uk/employment-law-resources.

The completion of the projects is the result of two years of hard work by six Law Clinic Student Advisors and one staff member. The students involved hope the resources will provide some guidance and reassurance to individuals experiencing problems at work.

Employment Law Project Coordinator, James Anderson, reflected on the completion of the online resources by saying:

“I would like to say a massive thank you and congratulations to both the students and staff who have consistently gone well beyond their expected duties in order to deliver these fantastic resources. It has been a large undertaking and one that I am delighted to have been able to oversee to its conclusion. Publishing these online resources is an important step in fulfilling the Law Clinics goal to provide access to justice to a wider audience. As my time in the Law Clinic comes to its end, I will look forward to observing the development of future online guides.

I hope that these resources will be of benefit to all unrepresented claimants seeking advice on how to navigate their way through an unfamiliar and complicated process. Furthermore, I would encourage everyone to share this resource so that it can be accessed by as many in need as possible.”

The Clinic would like to thank the Strathclyde Alumni Fund for providing funding for these projects.

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