Earnings during notice

Case 12: The facts

Mr Stowe, who is black, was a storeman for 19 years. He was selected for redundancy, although there were employees with shorter service.

A tribunal held that Stowe's dismissal was unfair and discriminatory. In assessing compensation for unfair dismissal, the tribunal did not take into account payment that Stowe had received in lieu of notice. The tribunal also assessed his injury to feelings for race discrimination in the middle band, not the lower band that applies to one-off incidents.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the tribunal did not have to take into account the payment in lieu of notice. It was not bound by decisions relating to mitigation of loss or wrongful decision in which credit had been given for payments in lieu of notice.

It was also appropriate, the EAT said, to award injury to feelings in the middle band, as dismissal was a serious incident that could not be described as one-off or isolated.

Voith Turbo v Stowe [2005] IRLR 228