An Industrial Tribunal can award damages for injured feelings on a complaint of action which fell short of a dismissal.
Held: Judge Peter Clark said: ‘It is nothing to the point that an award for injury to feelings cannot be recovered in a wrongful dismissal or unfair dismissal claim. They are different claims, compensated in different ways. We do not accept that a complaint under section 146(1) of the Act of 1992 can simply be categorised as less serious and therefore cannot allow of a head of compensation not provided for in claims of unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal. Apart from the different wording of the section, the intention behind it is clear; an employee who is unfairly dismissed would normally suffer pecuniary loss, and that, Parliament has decided, will adequately compensate him for the wrong. In a case of action short of dismissal it may very well be that he can point to no pecuniary loss; nevertheless, Parliament has decided that he should be able to recover financial compensation ‘having regard to the infringement complained of’. That must, in our judgment, include injury to his feelings occasioned by the unlawful act.’
Judges:
Judge Peter Clark
Citations:
Times 04-Mar-1997, [1997] ICR 851, [1997] UKEAT 1046 – 96 – 1902
Links:
Statutes:
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 149(2)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Heywood v Wellers CA 1976
The claimant instructed solicitors in injunction proceedings which they conducted negligently. The solicitors had put the case in the hands of an incompetent junior clerk. She sued acting in person, and succeeded but now appealed the only limited . .
Cited by:
Cited – Dunnachie v Kingston Upon Hull City Council; Williams v Southampton Institute; Dawson v Stonham Housing Association EAT 8-Apr-2003
EAT Unfair Dismissal – Compensation
In each case, The employee sought additional damages for non-economic loss after an unfair dismissal.
Held: The Act could be compared with the Discrimination Acts . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Damages
Updated: 10 June 2022; Ref: scu.79215
