5 ways to stand up to your employer

Standing up to your employer when something bad has happened can be scary. Here are 5 things you can do to protect yourself and your rights at work.

1. Make sure you record absolutely everything

Any communication can be used as evidence later on — letters, emails, meeting notes, etc., so make sure you’re recording everything. If you’re a Valla user, you can forward any documents into your special email address and it will automatically upload into your account. Or you can use our Timeline feature to write down your recollection of events, if something happened verbally.

2. Read your handbook

Most workplaces have some kind of employee handbook or workplace policy book. Read your handbook and hold them accountable for any processes that they should be following when it comes to workplace issues.

3. Understand the legal term

If you want to take your employer to Tribunal, know that there is a difference between “I was discriminated against” vs. “I suffered direct sex discrimination under section 13 of the Equality Act 2010”. One makes Tribunal judges very happy. Make sure you understand specifically what your claim is because it can help make your life much easier when it comes to taking a claim forward, figuring out a reward/settlement figure, etc. If you need help figuring out what your claim could be, check out our Claims Builder to build your claim today.

4. Follow the correct processes

Your workplace will have a set process they need to follow when dealing with any workplace issues — even if their policy just comes from ACAS. Make sure to understand what these processes are and cooperate with them as much as possible. If your issue does go to Tribunal, you can prove that you tried to exhaust all possibilities before coming to them, which they look favourably at.

5. Believe in yourself

When an issue occurs, your employer will try to brush it off or ignore it. Don’t let them silence or gaslight you into thinking you’re crazy for making an issue up. It’s very commonplace for employers to make you think your case is worthless. But if you’ve done your research into their policies and your legal claim, and you have solid evidence, then you have the right to take your claim forward and make your employer take accountability for their actions.