Looking for honest opinions – UK employment / ACAS / solicitor situation. I feel like I’m being messed around from multiple angles.
I was dismissed in January 2026 after 7+ years’ service. Before that, I raised serious concerns about a data issue at work – a spreadsheet containing highly sensitive employee information (mental health data and visa status). In my view, this was clearly a breach of data protection obligations.
I raised it informally first, nothing was done, so I escalated it through the company’s whistleblowing process (mid-2025, with further evidence in October).
After that, things changed quickly:
- Increased scrutiny of my work
- Exclusion from team activities
- A role I had secured internally was blocked for months
Then suddenly I was put into a disciplinary and dismissed for “conduct” during a training session.
The process felt completely stacked against me:
- I was NOT given full witness statements before the hearing (just bullet point summaries)
- This was later admitted as a failure on appeal
- The same management chain handled investigation, hearing, and appeal
- Only a handful of witnesses were interviewed when more were clearly involved
- Evidence was inconsistent, with at least one key witness contradicting the allegations
The timing also speaks for itself – formal whistleblowing in October, disciplinary shortly after, dismissal in January.
On top of this, my partner (who also worked for the same employer and provided evidence in relation to the issues) was dismissed shortly afterwards for “performance”.
There were also concerns around how she was treated prior to dismissal. Management compared dates where I had booked annual leave against days she had reported sick, and questioned whether she was spending that time with me. This was despite her confirming she was caring for her ill son, and the fact that we do not live together. This felt intrusive and inappropriate.
Additionally, my P45 was not issued until approximately three months after my dismissal, and was only provided on the same day my partner was dismissed. I find the timing of this difficult to ignore.
Taken together, this feels like more than coincidence.
I’ve gone to ACAS. The employer engaged initially and asked questions, which I answered in detail. My solicitor also sent a formal “without prejudice” letter setting out the legal issues.
Since then? Silence.
No response via ACAS for over a week despite chasing.
No response to my solicitor’s letter either (they even had to resend it due to “email issues”).
On top of that, I’m now having serious concerns about the solicitor I’m using:
- A lot of communication appears AI-generated
- The system made claims like “I can see your email” or “I’ve escalated this internally” which clearly weren’t true
- It even said letters had been sent when they hadn’t
- I’ve had conflicting advice about whether I should be handling ACAS myself or not
- They charge a 33% success fee, but I feel like I’ve done most of the actual work
I’ve now had to submit a formal complaint against my own solicitors while trying to deal with the employer.
So right now I feel like:
- My employer potentially dismissed me after whistleblowing about sensitive data
- The process was flawed
- There may be a wider pattern given my partner’s dismissal and treatment
- There were also delays and issues post-termination (e.g. P45 timing)
- ACAS is slow / silent
- My solicitor may not be providing the level of service I expected
Questions:
Does this sound like a strong whistleblowing / unfair dismissal case?
Is this level of silence from ACAS/employer normal or are they stalling?
Has anyone experienced solicitors relying heavily on AI like this? Is that acceptable?
Is 33% justified when the client is effectively driving the case themselves?
At this point I’m trying to work out if I’m overreacting or if this situation is genuinely as bad as it feels.
Any insight appreciated.