If a tribunal upholds a claim of discrimination, it can take whichever of the following steps it considers just and equitable:
- The tribunal can declare what the rights of the claimant and the respondent are in relation to the matters to which the claim relates.
- The tribunal can order the respondent to pay the claimant compensation.
- The tribunal can recommend that the respondent should take steps to avoid or reduce the adverse effects on the claimant of the matters to which the claim relates. For example, if the claimant has been refused promotion because of discrimination, the tribunal may order the employer to review and revise its promotion procedures, to ensure that future decisions are made on an objective, non-discriminatory basis. If the employer fails to comply with a recommendation without reasonable justification, the tribunal can either increase the amount of compensation it has awarded, or if it has not yet made an award of compensation, make one.
When a tribunal awards compensation for discrimination, its aim is to put the employee in the position he or she would have been in had the discrimination not occurred. There is no limit on the amount that it can award. The employee's main losses are likely to be loss of earnings and other benefits, both past and future, and injury to feelings. The employee will, however, be expected to take reasonable steps to minimise his or her loss. For example, if the employee has lost his or her job as a result of discrimination, he or she will be expected to make reasonable efforts to find a new one.
The amount of compensation that a tribunal awards for injury to feelings will depend on the effect that the discrimination has had on the employee. It is unlikely that less than £750 will be awarded for even the most minor injury to feelings. It is unlikely that less than £500 will be awarded for even the most minor injury to feelings. Serious cases of discrimination that have affected the employee deeply can lead to awards running into five figures, although awards are unlikely to exceed £25,000 other than in the most exceptional cases. The aim is to compensate the employee, not to punish the employer.
If the employer has acted in a high-handed, malicious, insulting or oppressive manner, the tribunal may increase the compensation it awards to reflect that. If, on the other hand, the employer has admitted that it has acted in breach of the discrimination legislation, that may help reduce the employee's hurt, and so may reduce the award.
In extreme cases, where the discrimination has caused the employee personal injury, compensation may be awarded for that. This might arise, for example, where the claimant has suffered physical injury from a sexual assault or has become mentally ill because of a sustained campaign of harassment.
The tribunal will also award interest on awards in respect of the claimant's past financial losses and injury to feelings.