As you may already be aware, if an employee is found to have been discriminated against an employment tribunal can award compensation for injury to feelings. In some cases, such awards may now prove to be more costly for employers.
What is compensation for injury to feelings and how does it work?
It is compensation for the hurt and upset the employee has suffered. As this can be difficult to quantify there is guidance in place for how much compensation may be awarded in respect of injury to feelings. This works by categorising the discrimination into bands with an upper and lower limit, the tribunal identifies the band it considers the discrimination falls into and makes an award within the limits for that band. The limits on these bands have increased.
What are the new limits?
For discrimination claims made after 5th April 2020 the new increased limits are:
- Lower band £900 to £9,000
- Middle band £9000 to £27,000
- Upper band £27,000 to £45,000
- Exceptional cases + £45,000
It is important for employers to ensure that they treat all employees fairly and appropriately to avoid discrimination arising.
Please do not hesitate to contact Kingfisher Professional Services Ltd for advice on discrimination or other employment law matters as we are happy to help.