managers’ action brief

Pmab027-09
Date 9 October 2009

Title Important changes from 1st October 2009

Sub heading

Author Emma Wiles

PCS Solicitor

Summary Increases from 1st October in the statutory maximum for a week’s pay and in the
National Minimum Wage + EAT update Vento bands

Attachments &
References

Increase to statutory maximum for a week’s pay

Increase to National Minimum Wage
Guidelines for injury to feelings awards in discrimination cases - Vento

Redundancy payments and certain employment tribunal awards

The limit on a week's pay for calculating statutory redundancy payments, and tribunal awards that use
a week's pay as the basis for calculation, increased from £350 to £380 with effect from 1st October
2009.

This increase will over-ride the usual increase date in February for 2010.

This increase will also apply to a wide range of employment tribunal awards - calculated using a
week's pay - that an employer might have to pay, such as:

• compensation for non-compliance with flexible working procedures

• the basic and additional awards for unfair dismissal
• compensation where an employer has failed to consult a trade union or elected employee
representatives when it intends to make 20 or more employees redundant
• compensation for failure by an employer to allow an employee to be accompanied to a
disciplinary or grievance hearing
• compensation for failure by an employer to give a statement of employment particulars
• compensation for an employer's failure to comply with its duty to notify an employee of either
the date on which it intends to retire them or their right to make a request not to retire on that
date

The national minimum wage (NMW)

The NMW for eligible workers also increased from 1st October, 2009. It is now:
• £5.80 an hour for workers aged 22
• £4.83 an hour to workers aged 18-21.

The rate for those under 18 but above compulsory school age rises to £3.57 an hour.
Vento – Injury to feelings in discrimination cases
In 2002, the Court of Appeal in the case of Vento -v- Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, gave
guidance to Tribunals on the assessment of damages in discrimination cases. The judges stated that
damages for injury to feelings can be divided into three bands:-

a) The top band should normally be between £15,000 and £25,000 and that sums in this range should
be awarded in the most serious cases, such as where there has been a lengthy campaign of
discriminatory harassment.

b) The middle band of between £5,000 and £15,000 should be used for serious cases which do not
merit an award in the highest band.

c) Awards of between £500 and £5,000 are appropriate for less serious cases, such as where the act
of discrimination is an isolated or one-off occurrence."

The Employment Appeal Tribunal, in the very recent case of Da'Bell v NSPCC, has outlined that the
Vento bands should be increased to reflect inflation up to 2009 as follows:-

• lower band: £5,000 to increase to £ 6,000

• middle band: £15,000 to increase to £ 18,000
• upper band: £25,000 to increase to £ 30,000

The starting point of the lower band should also be increased in line with the above ruling.

managers’ action brief page 2 of 2