With a significant rise in unemployment, many dismissed employees will be considering whether to lodge claims of Unfair Dismissal. Before embarking on what can be a lengthy and sometimes costly process, read on to see how much your claim is really worth…
As mentioned above, if you are considering a claim for Unfair Dismissal, you should have at least a general idea of what your claim might be worth. There are many factors that can increase or decrease the compensation an Employment Tribunal may ultimately award you. However, as a general rule, your main compensation is broken into two categories known as the basic and the compensatory award.
Basic Award
The basic award is calculated by reference to your age, your full years of service and your gross weekly wage. By way of illustration, an employee aged 30, with 5 years of service, earning £400 gross per week would have a basic award of 1 (age multiplier) x 5 (full years service) x £400 (gross weekly) wage = £2,000. The maximum basic award for a claim of ordinary Unfair Dismissal is presently £16,140.
It is also important to note that depending on the reason for dismissal, there can be minimum basic awards. For example, if you can show that the reason for dismissal was that you were carrying out activities as a health and safety representative, your minimum basic award would presently be £6,562 regardless of your length of service.
Compensatory Award
The compensatory award is calculated by reference to your net loss of earnings that flow from the unfair dismissal. Loss of benefits like car allowance, pension etc.. should also be factored in here, as should any costs associated with any new role you find, such as extra travel or the requirement to buy uniform etc…
You must have suffered a genuine loss and you are required to show that you have done all you can to keep your losses to a minimum. By way of example, if an employee earned £520 net per week and could show genuine losses over 23 weeks, their compensatory award would be £11,960. The maximum compensatory award for an ordinary Unfair Dismissal claim is presently £88,519 or 1 year salary, whichever is lowest.
The Employment also award some nominal figures for loss of statutory employment protection and expenses.
Increases & Decreases
As I have said above there are a wide range of factors that can increase and decrease awards. These include the Employment Tribunal finding that you contributed to your own dismissal (contributory fault), either party failing to follow the ACAS Code on Discipline and Grievance, a failure to keep losses to a minimum (mitigation of losses), offsets for monies already received such as redundancy payments or ex-gratia payments, a reduction to compensation on the ground that a dismissal was only procedurally unfair and that a fair process would have had no impact, amongst others.
The above information is provided as a general guide and if you are pursuing a claim you should always take detailed legal advice before seeking a specific sum of compensation. I have advised hundreds of clients over the last 15 years and very frequently they have undervalued their claims.
Let Lincs Law Employment Solicitors Help You
If you or anyone you know needs help with an Employment Tribunal Claim, ACAS Early Conciliation or are having problems at work we can help. Call Lincs Law Employment Solicitors on 01522 440512 for a no obligation, free consultation. Alternatively, for further information about Employment Tribunal claims, click on https://lincslaw.co.uk/services/employees/employment-tribunal-claims/
Sophie Goodwill
Director & Specialist Employment Law Solicitor
Lincs Law Employment Solicitors, Lincoln
Tags: Basic Award Compensatory Award Employment Solicitors Lincolnshire Employment Solicitors UK Employment Tribunal Compensation Injury to Feelings What is My Claim Worth