Take legal action

Sometimes making a complaint and following up is as far as you can go. 

You may get the result you want and be able to share that publicly. Or you may not get a resolution and you might decide to leave it. 

But even if you don’t get satisfaction, your complaint will have been logged and counted and may stack up with other people’s complaints. At least it ensures that the organisation is not hearing only from people promoting gender ideology. Sometimes your complaint or concern may help someone internally to raise the issue. 

If the problem persists, you could try making a complaint again later.

But if you have a good case, you might want to take legal action. 

Types of legal action

Judicial review

This is a type of legal challenge that you can bring against a public authority. This is where you ask a judge to look at the lawfulness of their decision, action or inaction. The judge looks at the way the decision was made, not the decision itself. You can only after you have explored other ways of resolving the issue. You can use judicial review to challenge the lawfulness of a decision, action or inaction for reasons including irrationality, illegality (acting beyond their powers), human rights or procedural unfairness. 

Employment tribunal 

Claims of discrimination and harassment against employers, trades unions, trade bodies and qualifications authorities are brought in the employment tribunal. Sex Matters case briefings cover employment tribunal claims in relation to sex and gender. If you are thinking about going to employment tribunal read Employment Tribunal Claims: tactics and precedents by Naomi Cunningham and Michael Reed. 

Civil claim in the county court 

Other claims for discrimination such as goods and services claims are brought in the county court. If it is a goods and services issue you may be able to bring it as a small claim (or simple procedure in Scotland). These are simple cases that don’t involve complicated issues or large amounts of money (usually less than £10,000). Advice Now has good guidance on how to do this. 

Information tribunal 

If you get to the end of the road with the Information Commissioner’s Office on a freedom-of-information decision or other decision made under the Data Protection Act 2018, you may be able to bring a claim to the information tribunal. 

Time limits

If you are thinking about bringing a legal claim, be aware of time limits. 

For employment-related discrimination claims you generally have three months minus one day from the date the incident occurred before contacting ACAS to start your claim. You do not have to go through all the stages of the internal complaints or grievance process if you don’t think you are getting anywhere.

For other discrimination claims (such as for goods and services) in county courts, the time limit is usually six months minus one day. 

For a judicial review (where you are challenging a public body on a decision) you must bring the claim as soon as you can, and no later than three months after the decision, action or inaction you want to challenge. 

First steps

If you are thinking of taking legal action you need to understand your options, and whether it is a good case. 

Solicitors are lawyers who give legal support, advice and representation. Barristers are lawyers who represent you in court. Some barristers will also work on a “direct access” basis. 

If you are thinking about bringing a legal case, a good first step is to talk to someone who has done it successfully. People who have brought gender-critical cases have benefited from support, encouragement and advice and are usually willing to pass it on. 

Our case briefings include details of the claimants, lawyers and cases. 

Funding

You will need to think about how you will fund a case.

• Check whether you have legal expenses insurance – sometimes this comes with your home insurance.
• If you are a trade union member this will usually include legal advice.
• Are you a member of the Free Speech Union? It can help with free-speech problems, if you’ve got into trouble for something you’ve said or written (or refused to say or write).
• Can you get support from the JK Rowling Women’s Fund? This offers legal funding support to individuals and organisations fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights in the workplace, in public life and in protected female spaces.The JKRWF does not hire a lawyer on your behalf, so you must already have sought legal representation and have a clear desired outcome to your case.
• Are you able to crowdfund? Many gender-critical cases have been successfully crowdfunded. We can give you some advice on this. 
• Can you get legal aid? If you’ve been charged with a crime, ask your solicitor or barrister if you’re able to get criminal legal aid. To check if you can get legal aid for a non-criminal (“civil”) case, use this government tool.

Sex Matters does not provide legal advice, but we may be able to point you in the right direction and we are always interested in talking to people who are thinking of bringing cases.