Employment protection award limits are subject to the annual increases by virtue of the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2018 (SI 2018/194), which comes into force on 6 April 2018.
The two principal changes are, first, that the statutory maximum on a “week's pay” for relevant calculations rises from £489 to £508. This means that the maximum redundancy payment or basic award for unfair dismissal goes up to £15,240.
Secondly, the maximum compensatory award goes up from £80,541 to £83,682. This gives a normal maximum for unfair dismissal of £98,922 (£83,682 + £15,240).
Increases also apply to minimum unfair dismissal awards for reasons relating to trade union, and health & safety issues.
Practitioners should bear in mind that the old awards apply to cases lodged before the new statutory instrument comes into force, regardless of when they are heard.
