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Before making a complaint

You may be able to make a complaint to either:

• an Employment Tribunal
• the County Courts in England and Wales or the Courts of Session in Scotland

In general, you will need to choose which route to follow. You cannot seek compensation from an employer at both an Employment Tribunal and a court for the same loss you suffered.

However, if you are making an Employment Tribunal claim, you could also ask the court to restrain or prevent an employer from blacklisting. So, you could ask the court to order an employer to stop using a blacklist, whilst simultaneously seeking compensation from an Employment Tribunal.

Complaining to the Employment Tribunal

You may be able to make an Employment Tribunal claim if an employer:

• refused you employment for a reason related to a blacklist
• dismissed you for a reason related to a blacklist
• subjected you to any other detriment for a reason related to a blacklist (eg refused you a promotion or pay rise)

You may also be able to make a claim if an employment agency refused its services to you for a reason related to a blacklist.

Normally, you should make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal within three months of the conduct in question. However, because blacklists can remain hidden for many years, an Employment Tribunal can extend this time limit if it is fair and reasonable to do so.

The secretive nature of blacklisting may make it difficult for you to prove your case in the usual way. To allow for this, it may be up to the employer or employment agency to prove that they did not break the law. You will need to supply sufficient facts that show, in the absence of any other explanation, that an employer illegitimately either:

• compiled a blacklist
• used a blacklist
• disseminated (distributed) a blacklist

You can bring a complaint against more than one person or organisation in the same proceedings, if you believe more than one person or organisation was involved in blacklisting. For example, you could make a complaint against the person who compiled or distributed the list as well as the business which used the blacklist.

If your Employment Tribunal claim is successful, the Employment Tribunal can:

• award you compensation
• recommend that the employer or employment agency takes action to correct the harm you suffered

The minimum amount of compensation an Employment Tribunal can award is £5,000 (although this can be reduced in some cases). The maximum award an Employment Tribunal can make is £65,300.

For more information about Employment Tribunal claims, read 'Employment Tribunals: an introduction'.

• Employment Tribunals: an introduction

The court route

If blacklisting causes you a loss or threatens to cause you a loss you can make a claim to the court. This right is available to anyone, including the self employed who usually cannot complain to an Employment Tribunal.

You can make a complaint against any individual, business or other person for:

• creating blacklists
• distributing blacklists
• selling blacklists
• using blacklists

Normally, you should make a complaint to the courts within six years of the event happening.

When considering these complaints, the court has the same rules as an Employment Tribunal when deciding whether you or the defendant must prove their case.

The courts do not have a minimum or maximum award limit. If your complaint is successful, they can also award damages and compensation for injury to feelings.

The courts can also make orders, including ones that are on a provisional basis called 'interlocutory orders' to stop organisations from blacklisting or using blacklists.