08.10.2024

Injury to Feelings

Mediator, Employment Law Solicitor, Dispute Resolution Adviser, HR Consultant

An injury to feelings award is intended to compensate a claimant for the hurt and distress they have suffered as a consequence of their employer's discriminatory action against them.

The employment tribunal needs to assess whether the claimant's feelings were injured and attribute a financial value to that injury. The tribunal will take various factors into account when coming to their decision including:

the degree of distress caused to the claimant
the seriousness of what happened
and how a respondent has dealt with any related grievance brought by the claimant.

Attributing a financial value in these circumstances is understandably difficult.

From April this year the tribunal guidance on awards for injury to feelings in discrimination cases is:

A lower band of £1,200 to £11,700
A middle band of £11,700 to £35,200
An upper band of £35,200 to £58,700

This sum is awarded as a ‘penalty’ against the employer and is in addition to any actual loss of earnings the employee is claiming.

I conducted a preliminary hearing for a client in August this year and the Employment Judge explained these figures to a Claimant. He said that, if she won, she could expect to receive an award in the upper band.

Her expectations immediately jumped from a settlement figure we had been discussing with ACAS of around £10,000 to £30,000 plus her loss of income. Her schedule of loss jumped from £15,000 to almost £50,000.

We have now settled the claim for just less than £10,000. However, this is a sombre reminder of the risks you face with litigation.

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Kim Nicol

Mediator, Employment Law Solicitor, Dispute Resolution Adviser, HR Consultant

I am a qualified employment law solicitor with over 25 years' experience working for the most part with employers. All businesses are vulnerable to tribunal claims from employees. My firm…