Commenting on the House of Lords decision to quash a ruling that awarded compensation for injury to feelings for employees in unfair dismissal cases, for example, where they are forced out of their jobs by bullying, Kimbra Green, employment law expert at Croner Consulting says:
The ruling affects the amount of compensation that can be awarded in unfair dismissal cases. Employers will still be liable to pay compensation in these cases but the decision clarifies that they are not liable for additional compensation for injury to feelings, which is difficult to assess. Injury to feelings in discrimination cases has been assessed to be in the region of 500 to 25,000.
This is actually good news for employers because until today the law was unclear as to whether the mental effects of bullying could be interpreted as recoverable in unfair dismissal cases. Today’s ruling clearly states that the Employment Rights Act 1996 allows tribunals to award only financial losses in unfair dismissal cases.
This also provides the much needed distinction that additional compensation for injury to feelings may only be awarded when the case involves discrimination by the employer. In the absence of discrimination then it is purely an unfair dismissal claim, with no injury to feelings award possible.
However, the House of Lords decision does not mean that employers can avoid tackling the issue of bullying in the workplace. Employers must still face the consequences as employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal and therefore be awarded compensation for this, but today employers can be assured that, in the absence of discrimination, that is the extent of their liability.
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Lords ruling today clarifies unfair dismissal law
But Employers Won’t Get Away With Bullying, Says Croner Consulting