Ian is in Warrington. Ian, good evening.
>> Hi, good evening. My question this
evening to yourself is, I was diagnosed
with a brain tumor in January and I've
been working all the way through
treatment and uh struggles and on
Tuesday of last week, I gave my employer
a letter from my consultant explaining
what my diagnosis and my prognosis was.
And then on the Wednesday following that
letter, I was made redundant. I'm just
wondering what legal avenues I could
approach. Have I been discriminated here
or um
>> It sounds like it, doesn't it?
>> It very does.
>> Yeah. Well, first of all, I'm really
sorry to hear of your diagnosis, Ian.
You're in a strong position legally.
Obviously, you have many more things to
worry about at the moment, and I I
understand that. Um I'm I'm not going to
address the medical issue, but I I will
address the legal issue here.
>> Sure.
>> Uh somebody with cancer is deemed to be
disabled. Now, was the meeting on
Tuesday the first time you told your
employer about your cancer?
>> Um, it was not the first time. No, they
they they they've known about it since
January. However, the the meeting that I
had with them on Tuesday was to say that
I'm not going to have any further
treatment and that my condition is now
lifelimiting um as no further treatment
is available. Um that that was with the
HR lady. Then on and then on Wednesday
morning even before I took my bag off
and set myself up for the day, I was
called into a meeting room at 10 10 to 9
and then I was home by 9:30.
>> Was anybody else made redundant or was
it just you?
>> Just myself.
>> What uh what did you do if you don't
mind me asking?
>> I'm a software developer.
>> Software developer. And don't name the
company, please, but is it a large
company or a very small company?
>> It's um it's it's it's a medium company,
but they have offices throughout the
world. All right. Now, I'm going to tell
you the legal position first of all and
and then I just like to have a slightly
more general practical chat. The legal
position is it sounds like you have a
rockolid claim for disability
discrimination. You tell them that you
have a lifelimiting
uh cancer diagnosis and you're not
having any more treatment and the next
day they dismiss you. I'm assuming there
was no redundancy consultation at all.
>> No, no, no, no redundancy. the I I I did
query this with them and um they just
said to me, "Look, you've not been in
the company long enough. I've I've only
had the company for 11 months."
>> Okay? Doesn't matter for a disability
discrimination claim. Uh and that's
probably their ignorance. You can't
claim unfair dismissal until you've
worked for two years, but you can claim
disability discrimination. I I think
unless the uh employment judge is off
his or her rocker, they are inevitably
going to find that the reason you were
dismissed is because you told them that
you have a lifelimiting cancer. I mean,
there there is no other possible
credible in inference from from what
you've told me.
>> So, you will win your disability
discrimination claim.
>> The issue, and do you want me to be
blunt or do you want me to sugarcoat it?
I'm going to let you choose this.
>> Uh, no. Go away. be blunt.
>> Okay. The the issue here is how much
money you'd get because a tribunal is
going to say if your company hadn't
discriminated against you by dismissing
you, how much longer would you have
worked for and how much would you have
earned in that period?
>> Yeah.
>> And that is going to be your your your
claim uh the value of your claim. So, if
the tribunal thinks that you would have
worked for another 6 months and and I'm
not going to ask you what your prognosis
is if if unless you want to say uh but
if the tribunal thinks you would have
asked worked for another 6 months before
having to stop work or going off sick
and only getting sick pay, your
compensation will be that 6 month salary
plus plus money for injury to feelings
which is going to be in the region of 10
to 15,000 in this case.
>> Okay. Now, I said I was going to talk
practically, Ian. To bring a tribunal
claim and see it through, not only is
immeasurably stressful, but it takes
between 12 and 18 months to get a
discrimination claim through.
>> I see.
>> You know what I'm going to say now,
don't you?
>> Yes.
>> Do you want to spend your your last
weeks, months, years dealing with
litigation that you may not see the
benefit of?
>> It's it's fruitless, isn't it? Really.
Well, I mean, do do you have children to
whom you want to leave money because
they can continue with the claim on your
behalf and you will win.
>> I do have family I I I would like to
leave um money to. Yes.
>> So, so um they could continue with the
claim. Obviously, the employer might
just decide to give you a lump sum to
settle the claim because it's not a
claim that they would want appearing in
the local newspaper or a national
newspaper. And trust me, a national
newspaper would want to pick this one up
if you contacted them.
>> So there is a very real chance of of
getting a lump sum settlement here
because the moment they speak to a
lawyer, that lawyer will tell them they
are banged to rights.
>> Um but it's it's it's a quandry, Ian,
because you're not going to want to
spend um what time you have left dealing
with litigation as opposed to spending
it with your family, I'd imagine.
>> No, of course. I mean, family time is
very important, but uh it would be nice
to um have not been discriminated
against at the same point. You know, I I
I love my job and I'm very capable of
doing the job that I've got. It it just
hurt very much.
>> I I can imagine. Yeah,
>> I can imagine. And it's just at the time
that that you really don't need yet
another knock.
>> Exactly. Yeah.
>> Can I ask you one other question? Um, in
your job,
>> in your job, did you have death in
service benefits?
>> No, it was very very limited um employee
benefits. There's no
>> Yeah, it was just just my salary and
that and that was it.
>> Okay. Cuz that that might have been
another line of attack by by dismissing
you. They were depriving your estate of
death in service benefits and that could
have been quite a meaty claim. Um but
but that's not actually uh there. Um, do
you want me to read you a couple of
texts that have come in uh in the last
couple of minutes?
>> Yeah, sure. Go ahead.
>> Um, so Susan has said, "Thank you,
Susan. I hope I hope that Ian is
receiving PIP. He must apply straight
away. He'll get the higher amount
immediately within a week or so." I
think that's quite good advice. Joe has
written, "How utterly tragic. The cynic
in me would say the employee is aware of
the length of time this will take and be
under the impression a claim won't be
forthcoming. a terrible world in which
we live sometimes. Um Lucy says she's so
sorry. She sends you her love. Getting
loads of texts in here um in supporting
you.
>> That's very very very comforting. Yes.
Thank you.
>> Well, I I wish you all the best. Um, and
my thoughts are with you as are as are
thousands and thousands of people
listening to this right