Case Studies

Real employment tribunal decisions, explained in plain English for employees. Each case sets out what happened, what the tribunal found, and what it means for you.

Filters

Topic

Unfair Dismissal 55 Disability Discrimination 44 Discrimination 34 Procedural Fairness 32 Constructive Dismissal 31 Reasonable Adjustments 28 Employer duties 22 Equality Act 22 Occupational Health 22 Harassment 21

Redundancy 21 Mutual Trust and Confidence 18 Compensation 17 Employment Tribunal 16 Evidence and records 16 Disciplinary procedure 15 Contracts and Agreements 14 Grievance procedure 14 Pay 14 Whistleblowing 13 Breach of contract 12 Disciplinary Process 12 Capability 10 Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination 10 Misconduct 9 Protected disclosure 9 Settlement 9 Bullying 8 Detriment 8 Employment rights 8 Consultation 7 Management Conduct 7 Suspension 7 Time Limits 7 unpaid wages 7 Without Prejudice 7 case-law 6 Disciplinary Investigations 6 Employment Status 6 Ill-health capability 6 Resignation 6 Disciplinary 5 insolvency 5 notice pay 5 TUPE 5 work-related-stress 5 wrongful dismissal 5 Affirmation 4 duty-of-care 4 Implied Terms 4 Polkey Reduction 4 Right to Representation 4 Vicarious Liability 4 Victimisation 4 Worker Rights 4 Attendance Management 3 Investigation 3 Natural Justice 3 Public interest 3 Race Discrimination 3 Sick Leave 3 Trust and Confidence 3 Working time 3 Contributory Conduct 2 Disclosure 2 Dismissal procedure 2 Holiday Pay 2 ill-health 2 Last Straw 2 managerial-competence 2 National Minimum Wage 2 Restraint of Trade 2 sickness absence 2 written warning 2 absence 1 Adoption Leave 1 Agency Workers 1 bias 1 compensatory-award 1 Consistency 1 control-test 1 Cumulative Disclosures 1 dismissal 1 education 1 higher-education 1 HMRC and Tax 1 Information vs Allegation 1 Length of service 1 Opt-out agreements 1 Overtime 1 Protected Conversation 1 public-interest-test 1 Qualifying Disclosure 1 reason-for-dismissal 1 Religion or Belief Discrimination 1 self-employment 1 Sex Discrimination 1 Shared Parental Leave 1 statutory-guarantee 1 Strike-out Threshold 1 worker-status 1 Working Hours 1

Outcome

All Employee-favourable 157 Employer-favourable 42 Mixed 35

234 case studies

Sort

Employee-favourable 2026

A comment comparing you unfavourably to a colleague, using a racially loaded word, can be harassment, even if it wasn’t meant as an insult.

Intent doesn't decide this. A comment about your race, even one aimed at someone else, even one the person making it calls well-intentioned, can still be unlawful harassment if it humiliates you or makes your workplace feel hostile.

Employment Tribunal Equality Act Harassment Race Discrimination

Employee-favourable 2026

If dozens of you are made redundant without consultation, you can all claim extra pay.

If you're made redundant alongside a large group of colleagues with no consultation beforehand, you can claim a protective award of up to 90 days' extra pay, but you still have to prove your own employment and dismissal dates individually.

Compensation Consultation insolvency Redundancy

Employee-favourable 2026

Agreeing to a reasonable adjustment isn’t the same as making it happen.

Agreeing to a reasonable adjustment is not the same as making it happen, and unreasonable delay can itself be unlawful.

Constructive Dismissal Disability Discrimination Harassment Reasonable Adjustments Victimisation

Employee-favourable 2026

If your employer goes bust, the government only guarantees statutory notice pay

If your employer becomes insolvent, you can still claim what you're already owed, including unpaid wages and holiday pay, but the government's guarantee on notice pay only covers the statutory minimum, not whatever extra your contract promises.

insolvency notice pay statutory-guarantee

Employee-favourable 2026

If you’re disabled and struggling to meet a deadline your employer has set for a formal process, you may be entitled to more time.

Reasonable adjustments cover deadlines, not just physical changes to your job. Ask for more time when a disability is affecting your ability to meet one, particularly for a formal process. An unreasonable refusal, especially once you've explained the impact, can be unlawful.

Constructive Dismissal Disability Discrimination Equality Act Harassment Reasonable Adjustments

Employee-favourable 2026

If surgery could resolve your health issue, your employer should wait to find out first.

If your employer is considering dismissing you for health-related absence, they are expected to check your current medical position first rather than relying on old reports, especially where something like surgery or treatment could soon change the picture.

Attendance Management Disability Discrimination Ill-health capability Occupational Health Unfair Dismissal

Employee-favourable 2026

Being quietly passed over for a role a male colleague gets can be unlawful.

If someone of a different sex is given a promotion or expanded role you were never told about or allowed to apply for, that can be unlawful sex discrimination, regardless of what your employer calls the change internally.

Constructive Dismissal Discrimination Equality Act Management Conduct

Employee-favourable 2026

Agreeing to an adjustment doesn’t count if your employer never actually makes it happen.

If your employer agrees a reasonable adjustment, they have to actually put it in place. Failing to follow through can be unlawful disability discrimination on its own.

Disability Discrimination Reasonable Adjustments

Mixed 2026

If your employer never showed you the evidence, that alone can make your dismissal unfair.

A genuine belief that you did something wrong is not enough to justify dismissal. Your employer needs reasonable grounds too, and you need to see the evidence.

Disciplinary Investigations Disclosure Misconduct Procedural Fairness Unfair Dismissal

Employee-favourable 2026

Your employer can’t skip a fair process just because they’re sure you did it

A dismissal can still be unfair even when your employer is genuinely convinced you did something wrong.

Disciplinary Process dismissal Procedural Fairness Unfair Dismissal

Employee-favourable 2026

Redundancy doesn’t let your employer skip considering junior roles for you.

If you're made redundant, your employer must actively consider offering you any suitable alternative role across the organisation, including a more junior one, even if you never asked and even if it wasn't advertised yet.

Consultation Procedural Fairness Redundancy Unfair Dismissal

Mixed 2026

Your right to bring a colleague to a disciplinary meeting only exists once you ask.

You have to actively ask to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance meeting. Your employer staying silent about what the meeting is for does not create that right for you automatically.

Disciplinary Disciplinary procedure Procedural Fairness Right to Representation

1 234 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20