Insurer paid out £7,000 and I got justice over dismissal
ALAN Bosworth recently took a fight for unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal and won. But he was only able to stick up for his rights because his insurer met the legal costs of around £7,000. Alan, 48, lost his job as a lorry driver with Northampton Partnership Homes last spring when the council-owned organisation was spun out to a private firm and he was dismissed without good reason. He says: ‘Without the insurance I would have had to walk away. I couldn’t afford the £1,200 tribunal fee.’ Father-of-two Alan only found out he had legal expenses cover when he contacted Nationwide Building Society about reducing his mortgage repayments after the setback sent his finances into meltdown.
He says: ‘I explained I couldn’t afford the full mortgage repayments. As well as helping me reorganise payments it told me that through my home insurance I had legal expenses cover with DAS with up to £50,000 of cover for legal costs that I could use to go to an employment tribunal.’
Alan took action against Northampton Borough council and NPH last year. He suffered serious stress during the process but late last year learned he had won at tribunal.
He says the legal cover and representation saved him.
‘Without the insurer’s barrister I don’t know what I would have done,’ he says. ‘I had worked for my employer for 25 years and was determined to get justice. Now I can get my life on track.’