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Employment law update: revised compensation for discrimination claims
March 31, 2025
Employees, workers and even job applicants are protected against discrimination at work; meaning they can all potentially bring claims for having suffered discrimination – as long as they can rely on one of the nine protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Unfair dismissal compensation is limited to financial losses and is usually capped at a year’s salary. However, in discrimination claims, an employee can also be compensated for non-financial losses including an “injury to feelings” award, i.e. for mental or emotional injury. In a case called Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in 2003, the Courts set down guidelines or “bands” for the amount of compensation to be awarded for injured feelings.
Since the Vento Bands are subject to annual inflationary increases, new Vento Bands now apply to discrimination claims issued on or after 6 April 2025, the Vento bands (as they are known) are as follows:
In addition to injury to feelings awards, employees can also recover compensation for any loss of earnings they suffer as a result of acts of discrimination – e.g. when they lose their job or have to take long-term sick leave. Unlike in unfair dismissal cases, there is no total cap on compensation so it can reach hundreds of thousands of pounds or more in particularly serious cases of discrimination.
Remember, there is also a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers who are unable to show they have taken reasonable steps to prevent workplace sexual harassment risk an uplift of up to 25% on compensation awarded by an employment tribunal. Pre-emptive steps are therefore vital.
In order to avoid facing this type of claim, it is important for employers to try to prevent discrimination in the workplace and address such complaints swiftly if they do arise. Some of the ways in which you can do this are as follows:
If you would like to stay up to date with employment law updates, contact one of our expert employment solicitors using the contact form or via 02920 829 100 to see how we can support you and your business.
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