What will an employment tribunal award me if I succeed in a claim of unfair dismissal?

The calculation of losses is not a straight forward matter. This is simply a summary of the kind of issues that may be covered in a compensatory award made by a Tribunal. The Tribunal may reduce elements of the award by up to 100% in exceptional circumstances (for example contribution to one’s own dismissal) which I shall not delve into here.

The main purpose of an award of damages is to put the employee back in the position that he or she would have been had s/he not been unfairly dismissed. This is the object of the Compensatory Award:

Compensatory Award:

The compensatory award compensates the employee for the loss of net earnings, benefits etc from the date of dismissal until the date that s/he finds suitable alternative employment. The employee will have to show what steps s/he has taken to find suitable alternative employment by producing letters, emails, application forms, rejection letters etc showing that /she has actually been actively looking for another job (rather than sitting at home waiting for the Tribunal to make it’s award). This is likely to comprise of:

-          Loss of net pay (after deductions of tax and national insurance) for the number of weeks the employee has been out of work to the date of the Tribunal Hearing. For example, Bob is out of work for three months, before finding another job earning as much as before. If he earned £2,000 per month after tax, and was out of work for 6 months, his loss hear would be £6,000,

-          Loss of net pay (after deductions) from the hearing date until the date the employee is expected to have found suitable alternative employment (not normally more than 6 months)

-          Loss of other benefits (for example health insurance etc) for the same period.

-          Loss of pension rights (this can be difficult to calculate) for the same period.

-          Costs associated with finding another job (such as travel, stationary etc)

-          Loss of ‘statutory rights’ (normally up to £250). This recognises the fact that s/he will have to work in the new job for a year before getting statutory protection from unfair dismissal)

Compensatory awards for most people are not great, and are unlikely to approach the statutory cap (currently £65,300 from the 1^st February 2010). Some older people may argue that they will effectively be out of work until their retirement date, but Tribunals are reluctant to accept such an argument without compelling evidence.   High earners may feel that the statutory cap for compensatory awards means that they cannot recover all of their losses when bringing an unfair dismissal claim.

Basic Award:

The basic statutory award on unfair dismissal largely the same as a statutory redundancy payment. However entitlement arises after one year’s employment. This will be a week’s pay to a maximum of £380 before tax (reviewed annually in October of each year)) x full years worked x 1.5 for years worked over the age of 41. There’s also a slight variation for years worked under the age of 21. For a ‘Ready Reckoner’ see  http://www.direct.gov.uk/redundancy.dsb  or do a web search for ‘redundancy ready reckoner’

Injury to Feelings:

Tribunals will not make an award of ‘injury to feelings’ in statutory claims of unfair dismissal. However awards for injury to feelings may be made for unlawful discrimination (see the page on injury to feelings)

Call us today for a free initial chat with a solicitor for some more specific advice on constructive unfair dismissal. Telephone 0207 324 6271. For the Central London Employment Tribunal address click here: 

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Reculver Solicitors Ltd (Company No. 6910066) | Solicitors: James Carmody*, Carol Aylott, Kate Henry.
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Reculver Solicitors
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Tel: 0207 324 6271 |
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