New compensation limits

The new limits applying to claims in employment tribunals have been published and come into effect on 6 April 2020. The figures are set out in the Schedule to the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2020 and are as follows:


• the maximum amount of a week’s pay that is used to calculate statutory redundancy pay and the basic award and additional award in unfair dismissal claims rises from £525 to £538;


• the maximum compensatory award in an unfair dismissal claim increases from £86,444 to £88,519;


• the minimum basic award increases from £6,408 to £6,562 in cases of automatically unfair dismissal on grounds of trade union membership or activities, acting as a health and safety representative or employee representative or trustee of an occupational pension scheme, or as a shop worker for refusing to work on Sundays;


• the amount of award for unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership or activities, or collective bargaining goes up from £4,193 to £4,294;


• the maximum guarantee payment payable to an employee who is entitled to be paid for being laid off increases from £29 to £30 per day;


• the minimum compensation where an individual is unlawfully expelled from a trade union and not admitted or re-admitted by the date of a tribunal application rises from £9,787 to £10,022; and


• the amount payable to an employee for a debt when their employer becomes insolvent rises from £525 to £538 in respect of any one week.