Discrimination Service for Individuals

National AIDS Trust provides advice and support to people living with or affected by HIV who have faced discrimination. This service is free of charge.

We can:

• Talk through a situation which you think may be discrimination
• Provide you with advice, including legal advice through our partner solicitors specialising in discrimination law and employment law
• Represent you and advocate on your behalf for example by drafting letters of complaint
• Support you to use regulatory complaints procedures for private and public bodies
• Advise on taking legal action*
• Maintain your anonymity where requested and always uphold confidentiality

*Please note that we cannot guarantee legal representation, nor can we fund legal fees outside of the advice we provide from our solicitors.

The information provided through this service is informed by advice from our legal partners at Deighton Pierce Glynn and Leigh Day.

Examples of types of discrimination we could support you with (this list is not exhaustive, please come to us with any experience of discrimination):

• From your employer
• From healthcare professionals, for example your dentist or doctor
• If you have been refused a service or incurred an extra charge for a service such as tattooing or piercings
• From police, during legal proceedings or in prison
• As part of an immigration claim
• Where reasonable adjustments have not been made for HIV as a disability under the Equality Act 2010

Funded by

Discrimination Service for HIV support staff

We encourage you to put us in touch directly with the person who has experienced discrimination. However, if they want to remain anonymous or only communicate via your organisation, we can provide advice to HIV support services and to others working with people living with HIV.

We can:

• Talk through a situation which you think may be discrimination
• Tailor advice on how the law applies to the facts of a specific case, such as:
  • whether or not a particular course of conduct is likely to amount to discrimination
  • what type of discrimination is in play, and the relevant legal principles, exemptions and exceptions
• Signpost to additional sources of advice and support
• Support with drafting letters of complaint
• Advise on taking legal action*

*Please note that we cannot guarantee legal representation for your client nor can we fund legal fees.

The information provided through this service is informed by advice from our legal partners at Deighton Pierce Glynn and Leigh Day.

Contact:

Please email Lyndsey Ponsonby, our Discrimination Caseworker, at lindsey.ponsonby@nat.org.uk with a description of the situation which you would like advice or support on.  

You can also call us on 020 7814 6740 or email casework.support@nat.org.uk  

If you are contacting us on behalf of someone else, such as a client, please do not include any personal details of the individual without their prior consent.