Discrimination Claims: new compensation guide

Discrimination Claims: new compensation guide

Previously, the Court of Appeal set out guidance for calculating awards given to parties who have suffered an act or multiple acts of discrimination - this award is known as an injury to feelings award. The scale to establish what a person can be awarded has been guided by the leading case Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police since 2002. These are known as the Vento guidelines.

Injury to feelings awards as classified as one of three bands; the bottom, middle or top. The bottom band is for less serious cases such as one off or isolated incidents, the middle looks at more serious issues or issues of a persistent nature and the top is reserved for the more serious cases of discrimination. Unfortunately, there is no set precedent to denote which band the conduct complaint should fall into as each case is tested upon its own facts and the individuals own suffering. 

Recently, in the case of Simmons v Castle, it was decided that a 10% increase to all injury to feelings awards should be incorporated to try to balance out the possible shortfalls in the Vento guidelines. Despite this increase, some believed that the guidelines are outdated and no longer reflect the levels of compensation which should be awarded presently.

Therefore on 20th July 2017, the Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England, Wales and Scotland launched a consultation on proposed changes to the Vento guidelines following the decision of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales in De Souza v Vinci Construction (UK) Ltd.

It was noted that the majority of responses supported the proposed updating of the Vento guidelines and the methodology for doing so.

As of 4th September 2017, the Vento guidelines parameters are now: a lower band of £800 to £8,400, a middle band of 8,400 to £25,200, and an upper band of £25,200 to £42,000 with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £42,000. 

Carrie-Ann Randall, Lawson-West’s Employment Department Associate comments: “This is a long overdue increase which will assist individuals who have been discriminated against in recovering financial compensation inline with the real suffering they have faced. In some places it is still relatively low given the discriminatory situations some individuals have suffered but there’s real improvement. 

From the perspective of an employer it is also something to be mindful of as these increases could cause significant detriment to smaller companies therefore it is important to remain aware of all of your legal requirements.”

Lawson-West offer a wide range of funding options including no win no fee agreements, so that you can choose the best arrangement that you can afford. Please contact a member of our expert Employment team on 0116 212 1000 / 01858 445 480 for more advice or to book an appointment.

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