Injury to feelings
Part of the compensation that can be awarded by tribunals for unlawful discrimination are awards for “injury to feelings”.
This is an award of damages aimed as a remedy for the hurt and humiliation suffered by the employee and is considered separately from any claim for financial loss, such as the loss of earnings.
The bands of awards for injury to feelings in discrimination cases, known as the Vento bands, have been updated from April 2018.
For claims presented on or after 6 April 2018, the lower Vento band for less serious cases is £900 to £8,600. For cases that do not merit an upper band award, the middle band is £8,600 to £25,700.
Finally, the upper band for the most serious cases is £25,700 to £42,900, although the payment could exceed £42,900 in the most exceptional cases.
A tribunal has discretion in what it awards, but it will take into account these Vento bands.