EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL COMPENSATION

A guide to employment tribunal procedure from the employment law experts

Marjon Law, specialist employment lawyers is owner-led by Marc Jones, who is ranked and recommended in legal publications as a leading employment law solicitor, with over 20 years of experience practising solely in employment law.

If you would like urgent advice on employment tribunal claims, please contact us as soon as possible.

This web page should be read in conjunction with the web pages EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL CLAIMS, EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL PROCEDURE and EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL COSTS

What compensation can an employment tribunal can award?

If an employee or ex-employee brings an employment tribunal claim against an employer they will be called the Claimant. The employer defending the claim will be called the Respondent.

If a Claimant is successful with their claim, an employment tribunal can make various awards based on the type of claim and in some instances the conduct of the Respondent.

A tribunal can make awards as follows:

• compensation (eg non-payment of wages)
• a compensatory award (unfair dismissal cases only), which would include loss of wages after dismissal, including pension contributions and/or unpaid wages and/or failure to pay notice money
• a basic award (unfair dismissal cases only)
• loss of statutory employment protection rights (unfair dismissal cases only)
• a statutory redundancy payment (redundancy cases only)
• a protective award (in collective redundancy situations only)
• injury to feelings and interest (in discrimination/whistleblowing cases only)
• stigma damages (in discrimination cases only)
• aggravated damages (due to the conduct of the employer)
• exemplary damages (due to the conduct of the employer).

A tribunal can also make awards of compensation if a Respondent has failed to comply with certain statutory obligations.

Compensation

An employment tribunal can award compensation (also referred to as damages) based on a Claimant's contractual or statutory entitlement and make an award of net pay (ie after PAYE deductions), gross pay (ie with no deductions) or statutory pay based on the type of claim.

Statutory pay changes annually. For the current statutory rate of pay, please see web page compensation, rates and tables

The types of claims, can include, among others:

Unauthorised deduction from wages

This is claim under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 2006 and will be based on the Claimant's net financial loss.

Breach of contract

This is a claim under article 4 of the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994 and will be based on the Claimant's net financial loss and capped at maximum amount of £25,000.

Such a claim can only be made after the Claimant's employment has ended.

Failure to allow a companion to attend a grievance meeting or disciplinary meeting

This is a claim for breach of section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999.

This is a statutory amount of 2 weeks' pay.

Failure to properly deal with a statutory request for flexible working

This is claim for breach of part 8A of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

This is statutory amount of up to 8 weeks' pay.

Failure to provide a statement of particulars of employment

This is a claim for breach of section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

This is statutory amount of either 2 or 4 weeks' pay.

Failure to provide written reasons for dismissal

This is a breach of section 92 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

This is a statutory amount of 2 weeks' gross pay.

Failure to consult employees as part of a transfer

This is a breach of regulations 13 and 14 of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. 

This is a statutory amount of up to 13 weeks' gross pay.

Redundancy

Failure to provide a statutory redundancy payment

This is a breach of section 135 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

This is based on an Claimant's age, length of service and statutory pay - at the time of dismissal.

For the current statutory redundancy payments, please see web page   compensation, rates and tables

Protective award

This is awarded in circumstances where a Respondent makes 20 or more employees redundant at one workplace within a period of 90 days and did not inform and consult workplace representatives. Consultation must commence at least 30 days before the first redundancies, where between 20 and 99 redundancies are made, or 45 days before, when 100 or more redundancies are made. This is known as a collective consultation

This is failure to collectively consult in breach of section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

This is a statutory amount of up to 3 months' gross pay.

For further information about consultation, please see web page redundancy

Unfair dismissal

An employment tribunal can award compensation for a claim of unfair dismissal, as follows:

Basic award

This is an entitlement under section 119 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The calculation of a basic award is the same as a statutory redundancy payment.

In certain circumstances, a tribunal can reduce a basic award under section 122 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (eg because the tribunal considers it just and equitable to do so).

Compensatory award

This is an entitlement under section 123 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

This is calculated based on the Claimant's loss of net pay from the date of dismissal to the end of a final hearing and for future loss, as the tribunal considers just and equitable.

The maximum compensatory award is 12 months' annual salary or capped a the maximum statutory amount, which changes annually, please see web page compensation, rates and tables

However, for certain types of unfair dismissal claims (eg whistleblowing and health and safety cases) a tribunal can award uncapped compensation.

In certain circumstances, a tribunal can increase or reduce compensation under section 207A(2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 by up to 25%, if the Respondent or Claimant failed to follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Loss of statutory employment protection rights

This is something that is normally claimed and based on case law. The standard sum tribunals generally award is up to £500.

Discrimination

Injury to feelings

This is awarded as a consequence of the discriminatory act (or acts) by the Respondent (or its employees and officers).

Depending he severity of the discrimination and the effect this has had on the Claimant, a tribunal can make an award of compensation, based on the case of Chief Constable of West Yorkshire v Vento (No 2) within what is referred to as the Vento bands, as follows:

• Lower band (less serious cases)
• Middle band (cases that do not merit an award in the upper band)
• Upper band (the most serious cases)
• Exceptional cases.

For the current Vento bands, please see web page compensation, rates and tables

Psychiatric damage

This is essentially compensation for personal injury as result of the discrimination, which a tribunal can award, based on the case of Sheriff v Klyne Tugs (Lowestoft) Ltd.

Compensation will be awarded on the severity of the personal injury based on The Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases.

Stigma damages

This type of compensation is awarded to reflect difficulties a Claimant may experience in finding alternative employment.

Aggravated damages

This type of compensation is awarded when a Respondent has acted in a high-handed, malicious, insulting and oppressive way towards a Claimant.

Aggravating factors are:

• there has been deliberate discrimination against a Claimant when the Respondent (or its employees) knew what they were doing was against the law or
  
• the Respondent (or its employees) acted in a particularly unpleasant manner when in defend the employment tribunal claim.

Exemplary damages

The purpose of exemplary damages is to punish and deter rather than compensate a Claimant.

From time to time cases do arise where awards of compensatory damages are perceived as inadequate to achieve a just result between the parties. They are additional to an award which is intended to compensate a Claimant fully for the loss suffered due to conduct of the Respondent (or its employees or officers).

Factors in awarding exemplary damages are where the conduct of the the Respondent (or its employees or officers) who caused the Claimant harm acted wilfully maliciously, violently, oppressively, fraudulently, wantonly, or grossly recklessly.

Interest

A tribunal can award interest at 8% for:

• injury to feelings under the Employment Tribunal (Interest on Awards in Discrimination Cases) Regulations 1996
• other damages at 8% under the Employment Tribunals (Interest on Awards in Discrimination Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 2013.

Adjustment

A tribunal can increase or reduce compensation under section 207A(2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 by up to 25%, if the Respondent or Claimant failed to follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Under section 124(4) of the Equality Act 2010 by up to 25%, if a Claimant succeeds in a claim for sexual harassment and is awarded compensation, an employment tribunal must consider whether the Respondent has complied with the preventative duty to avoid sexual harassment in the workplace under section 40A of the Equality Act 2010. If it considers the preventative duty has been breached, a tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25%.

Whistleblowing

A tribunal can award the same compensation to a Claimant if they have suffered a detriment for making a protected disclosure (ie blowing the whistle) during their employment than in discrimination claims.

For further information about tribunal awards, see web page Employment tribunal claims

Note: this web page refers to employees, however, in some instances, claims in an employment tribunal can be made by workers, contractors and job applicants.

The material contained in this web page is provided for general purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Appropriate legal advice should be sought for specific circumstances and before action is taken.

Why choose Marjon Law for employment tribunal representative?

We have been involved directly and indirectly with hundreds of employment tribunal claims for clients for over 20 years.

As specialist employment lawyers, our clients' interests are paramount to us. 

We ensure that all our clients get the best representation possible.

We will prepare all the necessary documents as part of the tribunal process and represent or organise representation for all hearings.

Contact us today ...