Real examples

Detailed case studies of real employment tribunal cases, and first-hand stories from people who were treated unfairly at work.

Content / trigger warning

The contents of these pages focus on sensitive topics. These cases might be emotionally challenging to read, especially if you’re going through something similar. Each case study or story may also have its own, more specific content warnings.

Tribunal case studies

We dig into the details of real employment tribunal cases, what the outcomes were, and the reasons they succeeded or failed.

Esme's direct marriage and civil partnership discrimination

After a breakdown of Esme's marriage, she found herself being pushed out of the business where she and her ex-husband worked.

direct discrimination
sex or gender
marriage or civil partnership

Gianna's direct religion or belief discrimination case

Gianna was employed at a conservative Jewish nursery for years. She was dismissed after her employer found out she was cohabiting with her boyfriend. Learn if this was legal.

direct discrimination
religion or belief
sex or gender

Emilia's direct sexual orientation discrimination claim

Emilia had been forced to hide her sexuality at work after being told the owner was "old school". She took her employer to Tribunal after being made redundant.

LGBT
direct discrimination

Victoria's direct gender reassignment discrimination

Victoria faced a toxic workplace that constantly harassed her about her gender reassignment with disparaging comments. Find out how she fared in her Tribunal case against them.

LGBT
direct discrimination

Security guards' indirect race discrimination claim

A group of outsourced security guards weren't paid the same as their in-house colleagues. Learn how this policy was indirectly discriminatory towards non-white workers.

indirect discrimination
race

Yasmin's direct pregnancy and maternity discrimination claim

Yasmin faced a lot of negative comments and behaviours at work after telling her employer she was pregnant. When she was dismissed, she fought back at Tribunal.

direct discrimination
pregnancy or maternity
dismissal or redundancy

Patrizia's indirect age discrimination case

A 64-year-old woman was dismissed from her job and found her employer advertising for new staff aged 18-25. She went to Tribunal for age discrimination.

age
unpaid wages
dismissal or redundancy
indirect discrimination

Charlotte's direct sex discrimination case

Charlotte faced direct sex discrimination at her place of work when she refused to wear a "skimpy" uniform. Find out how her Tribunal case went.

sex or gender
direct discrimination
unpaid wages

Harold's direct disability discrimination case

Harold had been dismissed from his job after his employer failed to make reasonable adjustments at work. Learn how his Tribunal case went.

direct discrimination
disability
dismissal or redundancy

Two real cases of indirect sex discrimination at work and how things turned out

Sex discrimination can be quite subtle. Here are a few examples of indirect sex discrimination claims brought to Employment Tribunals in the past.

sex or gender
indirect discrimination

Two real examples of racism at work and what happened next

Take a look at two real examples of direct race discrimination claims in the UK. We explore which arguments were successful, which failed, and why.

race or ethnicity
direct discrimination

Five examples of workplace behaviour that’s not okay

Everyone deserves to be treated with respect at work. If you're worried about how you're being treated, here are 5 examples of bad workplace behaviour.

direct discrimination
age
race or ethnicity
sex or gender
LGBT

Two real cases of dress code discrimination and how they won their cases

Dress codes can unintentionally discriminate employees based on a protected characteristic. Here are a few examples of dress code discrimination at work.

direct discrimination
indirect discrimination
pregnancy or maternity
religion or belief

Two real examples of direct age discrimination and what happened next

Take a look at few examples of direct age discrimination that have been brought to a Tribunal, and why the claims failed or succeeded.

direct discrimination
age

Three real examples of workplace whistleblowing and what happened next

Not sure if you've been fired due to whistleblowing? We look at 3 whistleblowing examples brought to the Employment Tribunal to help you understand.

whistleblowing

Two real examples of subtle disability discrimination at work and what happened next

Disability discrimination is not always direct and obvious. Take a look at some successful subtle disability discrimination claims.

disability
reasonable adjustments

Real stories

People like you who've been treated unfairly at work tell their stories in their own words.

Lisa Murray: I was made redundant in an unfair process

A part-time administrative worker was made redundant after Covid-19 hit. Lisa represented herself at Tribunal and won a unanimous decision for unfair dismissal.

2023

My employer didn’t follow their policy on workplace harassment

I was being bullied by another staff member. I thought my workplace would protect me. Instead, they punished me for speaking out.

2022

I was bullied for over a year due to a mistake

I made a simple mistake at work, and was made to sit through sham disciplinary meetings and bullied for over a year because of it.

2022

My boss stole my ideas, and I wasn’t the only one

I had a line manager that had issues with women. He would block a lot of my ideas and take my work to present it as his. He had done it to others too.

2021

My boss said I didn't qualify for redundancy because of a career break

I was made redundant at work. I knew the company had been struggling so I wasn't shocked. What shocked me was I wasn't offered an alternative.

2021

My manager bullied me until I quit

In the beginning of my new job, my manager was really controlling, but I thought this must just be how things work in the UK. I was wrong.

2021

My department head didn't even bother learning my name

I didn't realise what a boy's club my old company was until I found out that the Head of IT didn't care to learn my name and I was a senior team member.

2021

I nearly came out as trans at work, then heard awful transgender slurs

My managers saw me as 'on their side'. They would insult my coworkers behind their backs and call customers sexist and racist names in front of me.

2021

I found out I was being underpaid and nobody cared

I told my boss I was getting paid less than my colleague. He said that I could never get paid the same as my male colleague because of company policy.

2021

Do you have a story like this?

Show people being treated unfairly at work that they're not alone, and what others did in similar situations.

Share your story to help others like you.

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