1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176 
Awards in the ET are capped, except in discrimination cases.
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
If an employee wins, there will always be a basic amount, calculated on the basis of this formula: Weekly pay (capped at E330 per week for 07/08) x years of service x statutory multiplier (dependent on age) In addition, there will usually be a compensatory award (subject to the statutory cap), which should cover the employee's provable loss (including loss of earnings) and possible damages for distress).
ET's have the discretion to reduce the compensatory award in cases where there is a fault or faults attributable to the employee.
The county court (and the ET in discrimination cases) may award an amount to cover the employee's provable loss and damages for psychological harm.
The key factor that most employers will need to consider in either case are costs.
Costs in the ET are usually not awarded, whereas county courts tend to award costs to the winning party.
It is necessary, even for very small employers, to ensure they understand the legal obligations imposed on them by statute.
Employers should always seek legal advice before taking any steps that could result in an employee being disciplined.
Further down the line, change is coming. When the legislation was introduced in 2004, the intention was that workplace procedures would cut the number of cases appearing at employment tribunals. This has not been the case, and now the government is consulting on a new system which would introduced mediation to resolve disputes, involving ACAS if necessary.