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There can be various reasons to sue a company and that too by different people. A company can be sued by its own employee, a consumer or another business who think their rights have been exploited.
Your employer was maybe practising discrimination against you, or you may have suffered due to their negligence. The company may even threaten you against suing it but do not feel pressured to drop your claims as you deserve justice.
How to Sue a Company in the UK?
Well, suing a company involves a long and challenging process, but with the right course of action, you can succeed eventually.
Employee
An employee of the company may have a lot of reasons to sue its employer. It includes inadequate payments, a breach in the contract, workplace injuries, discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
Whatever might be the reason, you are eligible to take legal action.
If you choose, you can also settle these issues internally by talking to HR and finding a satisfactory solution. If the HR or the company fails to take any actions, you have full right to pursue litigation.
Workplace Illnesses and Injuries
Suppose you become sick at work due to the presence of toxic substances such as asbestos or injured working conditions due to the company’s negligence. In that case, you need to understand your rights, and you may claim compensation.
Unsafe working conditions include electrical hazards, unguarded machinery, poor ventilation, and others that can cause accidents or lead to physical harm. If the company doesn’t carry out risk-assessment procedures, it endangers the employees’ lives which can be considered negligence resulting in the company being financially and legally responsible.
Discrimination
No company has a right to discriminate against its employees on any grounds such as sex, religion, race. Discrimination may even lead to unfair treatment to the employees regarding promotion, salary, duties and work rights.
Money Disputes
No employer can pay you less than the amount you are entitled to. Underpaying employees can happen due to several reasons. If you feel that your company is not paying you enough, you must know about the laws that protect you from being underpaid, such as the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998 and the Working Time Regulations Act of 1999.
Always keep a record of your payslips, timesheets and bank statements as they are needed to support your claims if you want to sue your company in regards to wage disputes. Hire a solicitor to advise you and help you decide whether to pursue the claim or not.
Unfair Dismissal
If your employer dismisses you before your contract ends without an acceptable reason, you have a right to apply for the claim. Discuss with your solicitor for further knowledge.
Non-employee
To sue a company, you must prove that the company is responsible for causing you harm or they have done something wrong. For example, a commercial driver caused an accident that caused you significant loss.
Some examples of non-employee lawsuits are:
Premises Liability
If unsafe premises of any business or corporation causes you harm or injury, you can pursue a lawsuit to claim compensation, with proof that it was the company’s negligence. The business might also cover your medical expenses and try to settle out of court with the settlement. If you still wish to pursue in court based on the severity of the injuries, seek help from a legal adviser.
Consumer Discrimination
If a retailer or a service provider discriminates against you, that is, treats you differently than the other customers with no reason, you have a right to demand fair treatment. For example, they refused service due to race or rejected a hotel reservation because of gender or age.
Another company/business
If a company breached the terms of a contract, damaged your assets or was given negligent professional advice, you might want to sue that business. Before taking action, it is crucial to find the best way to resolve the dispute.
Here, it is essential to note that the company must also consider its reputation and protect its interests. It is necessary to find out if the business wants to recover money or aims at another form of remedy like restricting the other company from doing something as it is to be mentioned in the claim.
Filing a Claim
- Finding out the responsible person against whom the claim will be filed
- Understanding the amount of money involved in filing the claim and how much compensation will be received, it is essential to identify the value of the claim and whether the claim will be able to recover any money.
- Hiring a trustworthy and experienced lawyer to represent you with good negotiating skills
Ways through which the company at fault may force you to give up your claim
If you are an employee, your company might try to threaten to fire or demote you so that you withdraw the claim and not destroy the company’s reputation.
If you are pursuing a non-employee case, the company might use defensive litigation to overwhelm you by responding as quickly as possible, which can cost you time and money. This might cause you to lose confidence and even be financially unstable.
Importance of hiring a legal adviser
Hiring a solicitor to give you legal advice is crucial in the claiming process. He can guide you about the laws concerned with the case and even protect you from intimidation. Try speaking to different solicitors before you decide who will represent you finally.
Out of court settlement
As the court’s involvement requires a lot of funds, you should consider court settlement once. In this, both the parties will be required to discuss the matter and come to a conclusive compensation. If your solicitor advises against the settlement, it would be because you have a strong case and can receive more compensation through court. But the final decision is yours. Consider all the factors and then decide the best course for you as an individual or a company.