On element of compensation that can be awarded by an Employment Tribunals for unlawful discrimination (such as sex discrimination, race discrimination and disability discrimination) are awards for ‘injury to feelings’. 

 

In Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2003] IRLR 102 the Court of Appeal set out guidelines for the award of compensation for injury to feelings. The court roughly categorised three bands – lower, middle and top.

 

The Presidents of Employment Tribunals for England and Wales and Scotland have increased amounts in the Vento bands from 6 April 2020 as follows:


Lower band (for the least serious cases, e.g. one isolated incident of discrimination) : £900 – £9,000.


Middle band (which is used for serious cases but not in the highest band) : £9,000 – £27,000.


Top band (for the most serious cases, such as a lengthy campaign of discriminatory harassment) : £27,000 – £45,000, with the possibility of a higher award in the most serious cases.

 

 

This article can also be found here: Damian McCarthy site.