Compensation for discrimination: cause for concern
| Published date | 01 December 1995 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425459510103488 |
| Pages | 46-59 |
| Date | 01 December 1995 |
| Author | Adele Sinclair,Neil Botten |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Employee
Relations
17,8
46
Compensation for
discrimination: cause for
concern
Adele Sinclair and Neil Botten
University of Portsmouth Business School, Portsmouth, UK
Sacked major wins record £300,000 for pregnancy dismissal (The Times, 1994).
Considerable press attention was given during 1994 to women who had been
forced to leave the British military services because of pregnancy. With over
4,000 sex discrimination claims against them, the Ministry of Defence was
predicted to face a total bill of more than £100 million[1]. For the first time
industrial tribunal awards became headline news, rivalling defamation cases[2].
The awards and settlements even exceeded damages paid by defendants who
had caused death or injury through negligence. Examples of personal injury
awards are £15,424 to the parents of a woman killed in the Marchioness
disaster, £11,250 to a man left with scars on his face as a result of being struck
by a beer glass, and £260,588 to a man of 40 with asbestos-related cancer (see
New Law Journal, 1994).
Such large sums should cause concern for personnel managers and other
people responsible for the hiring and firing of staff. Until November 1993[3], the
highest award which could be made against an employer for discrimination or
unfair dismissal was £17,500[4]. So why have compensation awards increased
so dramatically?
This article examines the special circumstances which have led to the end of
limits in discrimination cases. It also considers the approach of the Employment
Appeal Tribunal to the assessment of compensation and the effect which recent
changes in the law are likely to have on future awards.
The controls on compensation
Claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination have always been highly
regulated, and compensation equivalent to actual loss has never been
guaranteed by these statutory rights.
Compensation for unfair dismissal is governed by the Employment
Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 (EPCA) and is awarded under two main
heads: a basic award and a compensatory award. The Sex Discrimination Act
1975 (SDA) and the Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) make similar provision for a
compensatory award in all claims of discrimination concerning employment.
Where discrimination results in dismissal, a case may be brought under both
the EPCA and the SDA or RRA (depending on the grounds of discrimination).
In such cases, a basic award is also applicable.
Employee Relations, Vol. 17 No. 8,
1995, pp. 46-59. © MCBUniversity
Press, 0142-5455
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