News & Updates

Update on Employment Tribunal Vento Bands

Liam A Entwistle

Published byLiam A Entwistle

5th September 2017

Update on Employment Tribunal Vento Bands

In July this year the presidents of the English and Scottish Employment Tribunals started a consultation into injury to feelings/psychiatric injury awards in Employment Tribunals.

These types of awards are made in Employment cases relating to discrimination, and are commonly called “Vento” awards, after the case which established the principle of paying out for injury to feelings caused by unlawful discrimination.

The awards are normally made within bands, depending on the seriousness of the activity and the reaction – hence “Vento bands”.

The consultation is now complete and the bands will change.

  • Lower Band (less serious cases) – from £500-£5,000, up to £840 - £8,400
  • Middle Band (Cases that don’t merit an award in the upper band) – from £5,000- £15,000, up to £8,400 - £25,200
  • Upper Band (most serious cases) – from £ 15,000 - £25,000 up to £25,200 - £42,000
  • Exceptional cases – from over £25,000 to over £42,000.

These bands apply now.

Although, due to differing personal injury laws in England and Scotland, Scottish Employment Judges are not as rigorously bound to the Vento Bands as their English counterpart, expect the Bands to be observed more often than not.

This is obviously not great news for employers, following on from the finding that Tribunal Fees are unlawful. There is no way to definitively know where, in the Vento Bands, any act is likely to fall. However, we can give you advice on that, based on our many years of experience in these cases. We can also help you avoid such claims with early, effective, intervention in any conflict in your business.

If you require any help or advice as a result of this development, please contact Liam Entwistle or one of our employment team:

Liam Entwistle: lae@wjm.co.uk

Martin Stephen: mss@wjm.co.uk

Andrew Wilson: ajpw@wjm.co.uk

John Grant: jzg@wjm.co.uk

 

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