It has been a big year for Ringrose’s Equality and Discrimination department since the launch on the 1st February 2023!
Carrie Clewes joined Ringrose Law and established the department with a small number of clients, some big ideas and a passion to drive change, improve accessibility and build an army of Equality Lawyers.
As the new enquiries and case load grew, reinforcements were needed and Catherine Drake, a Trainee Solicitor, joined the department in May 2023 to continue her training and support Carrie in progressing cases, providing advice and supporting clients.
As awareness spread about the ability to bring discrimination claims against service providers, the numbers grew and recruitment became necessary to assist with a group action following Festival Season. This saw growth in September 2023 as the firm welcomed Zoe Connolly, a paralegal within the department and further secretarial support from Jodie Proctor.
As a new team of 4, the department continue to support a number of charities in their goal to raise awareness for Disability Rights and inclusive, equitable access to services with talks and seminars being delivered to service users and employees of various charities including Doncaster Deaf Trust, Enable Unity, National Autistic Society and DeafBlind.
Case Success
Carrie supported the growth of new cases and successful settlements for the department. These successes include
- A case against a popular restaurant chair for lack of wheelchair access. The settlement saw an apology to the Claimant, a promise for a ramp to be installed at every location and compensation for the client for her experience
- Success against a well known hotel chain for their treatment of a disabled customer when they were left to sleep on the reception sofa due to inaccessibility. The hotel confirmed they would re-train staff members on disability awareness, review their accessible booking policy and paid damages to the client for their experience in a sum exceeding £10,000.
- A case against a County Council for failing to provide BSL Interpretation at all meetings with the client regarding the custody and welfare of her children. A severely distressing time for the claimant with the settlement attracting a sum of £15,000.00.
Awareness and Education
In August 2023 Ringrose was accredited the Level 2 Disability Confident Employer status demonstrating the commitment to inclusivity and signifying the firm’s dedication to creating accessible workplaces and actively nurturing and developing the talent of disabled employees.
The team and firm demonstrate not only their commitment to representing clients and running cases but also to educating individuals and business about their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and how to run an inclusive business for all individuals. This included the attendance of an inclusivity workshop with local businesses, attendance at various networking events discussing all matters of equality with other local professionals, being present at the Deafblind annual conference and many more events.
Summary
It has been a huge year for the department with cases increasing over 280%. The team continues to strive for improvements for access and inclusion to ensure no one experiences discrimination within services provision, whether this be for disability, race, age or any of the protected characteristics.
It is no surprise that 2024 and Year 2 for the Equality and Discrimination department already appears to be a busy one with new campaigns in the pipeline and attendance at Naidex and Disability Expo, plus much more.