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Know your Pink Law - 3
A leading law firm tells you what to do about homophobic businesses
Russell Jones & Walker is a leading national firm of solicitors that has been upholding the legal rights of individuals for more than eighty years.
As partners of Stonewall, and through their work with the Terrence Higgins Trust, they are acutely aware of the specific legal issues faced by the gay community.
In the latest of a regular Pride Life series, a leading solicitor from Russell Jones & Walker addresses an issue relevant to the gay community today.
• How can I take action against homophobic businesses?
If you want to take action then you will need to send a letter of claim to the business before going to Court. This letter should set out why you feel you have been discriminated against and what you have lost as a result.
In cases like this, the losses will normally be just for hurt feelings. But if you have suffered financial losses as a result of the discrimination then you can claim for this as well.
This type of case is heard at the County Court (rather than the Employment Tribunal). The time limit for bringing a claim is 6 months less one day from the date of the discrimination (or last in a series of acts of discrimination).
You can also ask questions of the business by means of a statutory questionnaire, to find out more information to support a claim of discrimination. The questionnaire can be served at any time before starting a claim. It might be particularly useful to serve a questionnaire if you are not sure whether to bring proceedings, and feel you need more information to decide.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has some powers of enforcement. So for example, if you see a discriminatory advert, the Commission has the power to investigate and then take action against the owner of the discriminatory advert.
For a free initial consultation regarding this please fill out a short form online here and someone will get back to you with advice.
You can visit the Russell Jones & Walker website here
