Bear in mind however, that legal aid is not available for Industrial Tribunal cases. Once the case comes before the Industrial Tribunal it is possible to represent yourself or get a friend to do so, or a Trade Union because Industrial Tribunals are in theory informal. The Law Society recommends that you should see a solicitor, at least for some initial advice. Many solicitors specialise in employment law and will have plenty of experience in these types of cases and therefore give you the best chance of success with your claim. To find a solicitor who specialises in employment law you can go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau, local library or look in the Law Society's Solicitors Regional Directory.
Many solicitors give free initial consultations.
Also, if you have a tight budget many solicitors do give free advice at Law Centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux. The maximum you can be awarded in a case of unfair dismissal is 12,000 and possibly a sum of money for each year you have been in the job. For cases involving sexual or racial discrimination the amount you can be awarded is unlimited. The Department of Trade and Industry has recently published a White Paper entitled 'Fairness at Work'. This paper proposes, among other things, to abolish the upper limit of unfair dismissal awards and so allow unlimited payouts, and allow employees greater rights to complain in certain cases of unfair dismissal.