Step 2: Decide what you're asking for and what type of court action you’ll take

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

Types of court action

There are two main types of court action for a discrimination claim: Simple Procedure and Ordinary Cause. They’re both in the sheriff court.

Simple Procedure is the new 'small claims' process. It’s designed to be a standard process for people to take action without a lawyer if they want to. There’s a cap on how much the claim can be worth - £5,000. You can apply online using Civil Online or by printing off the forms and sending them to the sheriff court. There is also guidance about how to start a claim.

Ordinary Cause is a complex legal procedure and it's best to have a lawyer. It’s designed for cases where the claim is for more than £5,000 or the case is very legally complicated. If you’re taking action under Ordinary Cause you start the claim with a document called an Initial Writ. A lawyer usually prepares this for you. See an example of an initial writ for a claim over £5,000.

Which court action to take

What you want to ask for will determine which type of court action you’ll take. By taking legal action for discrimination you can ask for:

  • a declaration that the discrimination happened to you or a policy or practice is unlawful

  • compensation (and interest)

  • an interdict – an order to require a person to stop infringing your rights

  • specific implement – an order requiring a person to do something they are under a legal duty to do, like make a reasonable adjustment for your disability

These are called remedies.

You can only ask for specific implement and up to £5,000 in compensation under Simple Procedure.

If you’re asking for compensation, how much you think your claim is worth is the most important factor in whether you start a claim under Simple Procedure or Ordinary Cause. You’ll need to work out how much compensation you’re asking for before you take action, or a lawyer can do this for you.

If you want to ask for up to £5,000 in compensation and/or specific implement, like a reasonable adjustment for your disability

You can use the Simple Procedure and continue to follow the advice on these pages about how to take a claim. You should be aware that if you lose the case, you might be ordered to pay the other side’s legal expenses, although these are capped in Simple Procedure.

If you start a claim in Simple Procedure and ask for specific implement, or the sheriff thinks the case is too complex, they could also decide to refer you to Ordinary Cause. In this case you would need to get a lawyer to represent you.

If you think you should start your claim in Simple Procedure you should continue to work through Steps 3 - 10. You can take a Simple Procedure claim yourself but it can still be beneficial to get legal help or advice - you'll decide whether you need this in Step 3.

If you want to claim more than £5,000

If you think your claim is worth more than £5,000 you would start a claim using Ordinary Cause rather than Simple Procedure. You could also ask for another remedy like a declaration that a policy or practice is unlawful or an interdict to order the defender to stop infringing your rights.

Ordinary Cause is more complex than Simple Procedure and it’s not designed for people to take claims without legal representation. The process can be difficult to understand for a non-lawyer. You could represent yourself in Ordinary Cause actions but most people don’t and get help from a lawyer instead.

If you represent yourself you’ll be expected to follow the court rules on court action, like how to start a claim and how evidence should be presented. The Ordinary Cause rules are available on the Scottish Courts website. If you don’t follow these rules you might find that:

  • your case won’t be heard or might be dismissed

  • you’re not allowed to rely on certain evidence or arguments

  • you’re ordered to pay the other side’s legal expenses if you run up costs unnecessarily or act unreasonably.

You should work through Step 4 to decide how strong your case is. If your case is weak or you don’t have a lot of evidence, starting Ordinary Cause action or legal action at all might not be the best option. This is because the side who loses an Ordinary Cause claim can be ordered to pay the other side’s legal expenses, which can be very high. Your own legal fees can also be very high, although you might be able to get civil legal aid. You would need to find a solicitor who does legal aid work.

The rest of this advice is about taking legal action through Simple Procedure, so if you want to start a claim under Ordinary Cause you should find a solicitor and read more about Ordinary Cause on the Scottish courts website.

If you don’t want compensation but you want another remedy, like a declaration that a policy or practice was unlawful

If the remedy you want is a declaration, for example, that a policy or rule was unlawful because it discriminated against people, but you don’t want any compensation, you’d raise this under a court procedure called Summary Application. 

Summary Application is more complex than Simple Procedure and can be difficult to understand for a non-lawyer. Most people don’t represent themselves and get help from a lawyer instead. If you’re taking action under Summary Application you start the court action with a document called an Initial Writ. A lawyer usually prepares this for you.

If you represent yourself you’ll be expected to follow the court rules on court action, like how to start a claim and how evidence should be presented. The Summary Application rules are available on the Scottish Courts website. If you don’t follow these rules you might find that:

  • your case won’t be heard or might be dismissed

  • you’re not allowed to rely on certain evidence or arguments

  • you’re ordered to pay the other side’s legal expenses if you run up costs unnecessarily or act unreasonably

It’s worth thinking carefully about whether you should make a claim for compensation because if your claim is worth more than £5,000 you could ask for a declaration or another remedy at the same time as seeking compensation - you would do this by taking Ordinary Cause action.

You might also be able to take a different type of legal action called Judicial Review if you want a declaration that a public authority has breached its public sector equality duty, for example.

The rest of this advice is about taking legal action through Simple Procedure, so if you're certain you don't want compensation up to £5,000, don't continue through the steps and get help from a lawyer instead. 

Example initial writ

Important

Ordinary Cause is a more formal legal action. There are no claim forms and the rules are much more complicated. If you don’t follow the rules, you might lose your case and also have to pay high legal costs. Make sure you get the advice of a lawyer to help you prepare the claim and represent you in court.

WARNING: The example below shouldn’t be used when defending an eviction. It merely gives an indication of the form of an initial writ under Ordinary Cause. You must get legal advice for your particular circumstances. 

An initial writ is a written document setting out a claim under Ordinary Cause in the sheriff court. It's usually prepared by a lawyer. It's very different to the standard claim form used in Simple Procedure.

PDF version

The PDF file will open in a new window. 

Example of a discrimination claim in the sheriff court for compensation over £5,000 173 KB

Accessible online version

If you can’t access the document you can see this version, but this may not reflect the formatting the court or tribunal uses. If you don’t use the correct format, your case could be affected negatively. You can get help from your nearest Citizens Advice or a lawyer if you’re worried about formatting your document.

Next steps

The rest of the steps in this section explain how to take a Simple Procedure claim for discrimination, not an Ordinary Cause claim. Continue to follow the steps if you want to take action under Simple Procedure. If you want a remedy you can't get through Simple Procedure, don't continue through the steps and get help from a lawyer instead.

Go to step 3.