Early conciliation

[Red67]

Hi All
i am new to posting.

I am coming to the end of early conciliation and so far acas have said there is nothing substantive to tell me. So I may have to consider tribunal but I am unsure if I have a strong case.

I have been assigned to public sector roles via an agency since covid. I always do work from home roles due to health issues and mobility difficulties. My last assignment I found after several weeks the full time hours were a real struggle. The role was telephony which meant there were strict start and finish times, set break times and you were stuck at the desk unable to get up to stretch and move as calls were non stop.

I approached the Government department team leader to explain my difficulties and she said any reasonable adjustment requests would need to go via the agency as they were technically my employers.

I subsequently emailed the agency to say I was struggling and wanted to discuss possible flexibility in working under reasonable adjustments. As per usual with this agency there was no response! Several days later, I had to take a day off sick due to a flare up of my condition and only then did I get a call from the agency.

I explained I was struggling and reiterating my health issues ( which i always declared) the agent said she would look into my request and get back to me.
To cut a very long story short, I kept chasing a response to my reasonable adjustment request for another 4 weeks with no resolution and lots of my emails going un responded to. By this point, I was clinging onto my job by the skin of my teeth as the working hours were effecting my physical and mental health.

I then saw a part time role advertised by the agency. It was exactly the same job, exactly the same Gov department just 4 hours per day rather than 7.5. As I had no resolution to my reasonable adjustment request I asked to transfer to the part time role. I got no response.

I had to call in sick again by this point and got the usual welfare call from a different agency agent. I explained what had gone on previously and how urgent my situation was to keep me in work. They agreed to put me forward for the part time role. Everything was processed the same day. I was told I would likely have to go through training again for the part time job. I reasoned that shouldn't be necessary as It was doing what I was doing currently it was just less hours. Was told I also would have to give notice for my current position which was crazy to me but the next day I got the call to say the part time role would start just over 2 weeks later but That I had to resign from the current assignment.

I was totally dumbfounded why I needed to resign when I just needed to transfer to different hours but I did as I was advised and emailed my resignation.

A couple of days later, I got a call to say my part time start date had been deferred and they would be in touch in the next couple of days with a new date. I explained I wasn't happy as I was now without a job but was assured a new date wouldn't be too long.

There followed me over the next 3 months continually chasing a new start date, never getting responses. I submitted during this time a feedback form hoping it might trigger some kind of help. To no avail.

After 3 months of chasing answers I was eventually told that the Gov dept had paused recruitment. At this point I was stressed, angry and deflated so i submitted an official complaint. This was acknowledged and was given a date for a resolution. That date came and went with no response.

A week later I emailed to say no response received and got a reply to say they were speaking to the client the next day and would contact me with an update.
2 days later, I emailed as no update given and was told my part time role had been made hybrid and was no longer work from home so there was no job for me.
To the date I contacted acas, there was no response to my complaint re reasonable adjustment delay concerns and the postponed start date and the fact I was now without a job.

This is when I decided to contact acas.

So my question is, does it seem like a strong case to take to tribunal? If the early conciliation fails? Or would I be wasting my time?

Thank you for bearing with me with this long post!

[ULA]

Before providing any advice there are a few questions I need to ask:

1. Who is / was your employer the agency or the government department you worked for?
2. What type of contract do you have with which ever of the above employed you?
3. When did you resign?
4. When did you submit your Early Conciliation (EC) claim?
5. Has the agency provided you with work in the intervening time?

[Red67]

So the agency is xxx. The Gov dept is xxx.

The contract is a fixed term contract.

I ( reluctantly) resigned on 8th Feb 2024 as instructed by Brook street on being given the start date of 27th February for the part time role. The call delaying start date was 10th Feb.

I made 2 complaints to Brook street
1st was 28/3/24- got a call from a team leader who didn't address the content. Only told me she would get onboarding to contact me. ( They didn't!)
2nd was 9/5/24- told full investigation and resolution by 17/5/24.
No resolution or recognition of the complaint was made until 3/6/24 when an onboarding manager called. This phone call did not address any content of my complaint. Only to try convince me a new start date would be given asap for the part time job ( which i had already been told several days ago was now off the table)

I was not told the part time role was now rescinded until May 29th 2024. Until that date I was told a new date would be forthcoming.
during 8th Feb to date Brook street processing a fit note with the recommendation from my GP I would be able to work part time hours.

I instructed acas on 30th May 2024

Until 29th May, I was told a new start date would happen. This is why I held off contacting acas. With hindsight Brook street may have tactically delayed my starting tribunal proceedings.

[ULA]

You say you had a fixed term contract but still unclear as to whether your were employed directly by the agency or the Gov department - who paid your salary.

What do you believe that your claim is for and again have you made it against the agency or the Gov department?

Specific dates are really important, you resigned on 8 Feb - when was your actual termination date or last working day?

I am concerned that depending on what time of claim you intend to make that you may be out of time if you did not start the EC process until 30 May.

[Red67]

I was employed by the agency to work for the gov department. The agency paid my salary.

I made a claim based on indirect discrimination.
I am classed as having a disability under the Disability act.

It is difficult to paraphrase it in a legal term but I feel they could have handled my reasonable adjustment request more swiftly, this would have prevented the need for me to have to request to be moved to the part time role which meant I had to resign.
I was told by a Brook street agent after making my 2nd complaint that I should not have been told to resign. They said the person who told me that was not correct. That was really confusing as well as infuriating.
I feel they could under the circumstances have arranged a straight swap of hours instead of sticking to their usual policy of having to resign to start another role, when the new role was what I was doing anyway.
I had no resolution to any of my complaints and they just strung the situation along for months.

The indirect discrimination in my view continued from my resigning in Feb all the way to when I was told there was no longer a job that they had kept telling me for 3 months would still happen. So although my issues date back from early January when I first requested reasonable adjustments, it all strung out over 5 months. Technically the last date I felt discriminated against would be 29th May when the finally told me the part time job was now off the table and I contacted acas on the 30th.

Acas said I had a case for indirect discrimination and possibly failure to apply reasonable adjustments, but the latter may be out of time but they still took on the early conciliation based on the dates I mentioned.
They told me to put both gov department and Brook street on the early conciliation form.
It took acas 3 weeks to contact me and I last spoke to them a week ago so there is now only 2 weeks left of conciliation at most.
I am yet to hear what either respondent has said. The process is quite slow with not much contact from my conciliator.

[ULA]

You will need to get and Early Conciliation certificate from ACAS before being able to proceed with and Employment Tribunal (ET) claim. I think it will be up to the ET to decide whether any of your claim is out of time based on the dates you will be providing when you complete the ET1 form.

[Red67]

Would you say i could add constructive dismissal to my claim?
As I had been told by the agency I had to resign from my full time assignment to start the part time one. The transfer to the part time vacancy only being necessary as they had not resolved my reasonable adjustment request in my full time role. As the part time role was changed to hybrid rather than work from home after my waiting for 3 months for a replacement start date and I was then left without a job.