Do you know what the new rates for injury to feelings are?
Awards for injury to feelings made under the Equality Act 2010 for discrimination have increased.
The old rates were:
- Lower band £600 - £6,000 for one-off acts of discrimination
- Middle band £6,000 - £18,000 for more serious acts of discrimination but that do not warrant the upper band
- Upper band £18,000 - £30,000 for the most serious cases and in exceptional circumstances exceeding £30,000
In keeping in line with inflation the presidents of the tribunals issued fresh guidance on the new rates.
The new rates for awards of injury to feelings applied from April:
- £900 - £8,600 (lower band)
- £8,600 - £25,700 (middle band)
- £25,700 - £42,900 (upper band)
A recent ruling by the court of appeal(CA) in PJ Grosset v City of York Council illustrates how the court use their discretion in making awards for injury to feelings. Mr Grosset had worked as a teacher at Joseph Rowntree School. He suffered with cystic fibrosis which the school were aware of. An increased work load lead to Mr Grosset suffering with stress which was as the CA put it was “contributed to by his cystic fibrosis”. Mr Grosset had, without seeking permission, shown a screening of ‘Halloween’ to a class of 15 and 16 year olds. When the school found out Mr Grosset was suspended from work which later lead to him being summarily dismissed. Mr Grosset claimed unfair dismissal and disability discrimination (DD). His claim for unfair dismissal failed but he was eventually successful in his claim for DD. The CA awarded £646,000!
This case highlights the need for businesses to ensure that their staff are fully trained in equality and diversity. Also as the school were aware that he was suffering with stress and cystic fibrosis, which could potentially be considered disabilities, it ought to have sought medical evidence to ascertain if either of these would have had an impact of his performance.
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