Changes to the following came into effect in April 2022:
Increased Statutory Payments
|
Payment |
New Rate |
With effect from |
|
Statutory Sick Pay |
£99.35 (up from £96.35) per week |
6 April 2022 |
|
Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay |
£156.66 (up from £151.97) per week* *SMP is 90% of normal earnings for first six weeks (in most cases) |
3 April 2022 |
|
Statutory Guarantee Pay |
£31 (up from £30) per day |
6 April 2022 |
National Minimum Wage increases
|
Age group/ category |
New Rate |
With effect from |
|
23 and over |
£9.50 (up from £8.91) |
1 April 2022 |
|
21 and 22 |
£9.18 (up from £8.36) |
1 April 2022 |
|
18 to 20 |
£6.83 (up from £6.56) |
1 April 2022 |
|
16 to 17 |
£4.81 (up from £4.62) |
1 April 2022 |
|
Apprentice rate |
£4.81 (up from £4.30) |
1 April 2022 |
Tribunal awards
|
Payment |
New Limit |
With effect from |
|
Limit on a week’s pay for certain awards/ payments (e.g. statutory redundancy pay, unfair dismissal basic award) |
£571 (up from £544) |
6 April 2022 |
|
Max statutory redundancy / unfair dismissal basic award |
£17,130 |
6 April 2022 |
|
Max compensatory award for unfair dismissal |
£93,878 (up from £89,493)* *Or one year’s gross pay, if less. |
6 April 2022 |
When a Claimant successfully brings a discrimination claim, there are various elements to the compensation which an Employment Tribunal can award.
One of these elements is an award for ‘injury to feelings’, which is aimed at compensating the Claimant for hurt, distress and humiliation arising from the discrimination they have suffered. Employment Tribunals ultimately have discretion as to the amount of this award but will consider the guidelines issued annually by the Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England and Wales, and Scotland.
The rates set out below (known as the ‘Vento’ bands from a case of the same name) reflect the latest guidance which was issued on 28 March 2022:-
- A lower band of £990 to £9,900 (for less serious cases, such as those involving a minor/ isolated incident)
- A middle band of £9900 to £29,600 (for moderate cases which are more serious than lower band cases but do not warrant an award in the upper band)
- A upper band of £29,600 to £49,300 (serious cases such as those involving serious/ repeated harassment)
- Exceptional cases may exceed £49,300
These guidelines apply to claims issued on or after 6 April 2022.
In addition to injury to feelings awards, discrimination claims will commonly involve awards for loss of earnings and/or other types of financial loss. In some cases there may be additional compensation for psychiatric or similar personal injury. Discrimination awards are not subject to any upper limit, although Tribunals follow a set of well-established rules to reach a decision on what amount of compensation is appropriate in each individual case.