Compensation

The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal is currently capped at £74,200 (from 1 February 2013) and the government has introduced a further cap limiting compensation payments to 12 months’ pay. However, there is no maximum cap in cases of dismissal for health and safety reasons or for whistleblowing. In practice, large awards are, however, rare. Ministry of Justice employment tribunal statistics published in September 2012 show that the median (midpoint) compensation award for unfair dismissal was just £4,560 in the 12 months up to March 2012 and only 2% of unfair dismissal awards exceeded £50,000.