Government plans to cut the size of the compensatory award

From Summer 2013, the compensatory award in unfair dismissal claims is to be capped at a maximum of 12 months’ pay or the existing cap (£74,200), whichever is the lower.

These changes are in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. They will make little practical difference to the size of the award for most employees, since the median unfair dismissal award for the year ending March 2012 was only £4,560. However, the message conveyed by the change is likely to further deter workers who might be thinking about bringing a claim.