INJURED FEELINGS?
Injured Feelings? Time for Employers to Take It Personally: Navigating the New Vento Bands
An ‘injury to feelings’ award is a specific type of compensation that an Employment Tribunal can award in discrimination cases. Unlike compensation for lost earnings, an injury to feelings award is designed to compensate a successful claimant for any emotional distress they have suffered.
As of 6 April 2025, the Vento bands, which are used by Tribunals as a guide to determine the appropriate level of injury to feelings awards have been updated.
The updated Vento bands are as follows:
Lower Band: £1,200 to £12,100 (for less serious cases)
Middle Band: £12,100 to £36,400 (for cases that do not merit an award in the upper band)
Upper Band: £36,400 to £60,700 (for the most serious cases)
Exceptional Cases: Awards exceeding £60,700 may be made in particularly severe cases
These changes reflect adjustments for inflation and aim to ensure that compensation remains fair and adequate. The bands are reviewed annually, and while they are not legally binding, tribunals are required to consider them when determining awards made to successful claimants in an employment tribunal.
The above bands apply to claims presented in an employment tribunal on or after 6 April 2025 but may also apply to existing claims prior to this date. Particularly, in exceptional cases, the Vento bands are applied during remedy hearings to determine compensation for injury to feelings. A notable example is the case of Jhuti v Royal Mail Group Ltd. In this case, the tribunal considered it appropriate to apply a Retail Price Index (RPI) increase up to the date of the remedies hearing, reflecting the six years that had passed since the claim was presented in 2015. The tribunal awarded £40,000 for injury to feelings, despite the upper Vento band at the time being £18,000 to £30,000.
“The tribunal found that Ms. Jhuti had suffered a "lengthy and intense period of bullying" over five months, leading to PTSD, severe depression, and the breakdown of her relationship with her teenage daughter.”
Applying an RPI increase produced an upper band of £27,184.87 to £45,308.12. The tribunal determined that limiting the award to the £30,000 top band would be a "gross injustice" due to the extreme nature of the case and its impact on Ms. Jhuti. The tribunal found that Ms. Jhuti had suffered a "lengthy and intense period of bullying" over five months, leading to PTSD, severe depression, and the breakdown of her relationship with her teenage daughter. Medical evidence indicated that she would never work again due to her illness and the stigma of six years' unemployment since her dismissal by Royal Mail.
Steps Employers Can Take to Mitigate Risk of Claims
To mitigate the risk of discrimination complaints, employers can take several proactive steps such as:
Implementing comprehensive anti-discrimination policies that clearly prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace and ensure they are communicated effectively to all employees and are easily accessible and are regularly reviewed to remain effective;
Provide regular training on diversity, inclusion and anti-discrimination for all employees including management with a focus on raising awareness about unconscious bias and promoting respectful workplace behaviour;
Establish clear reporting lines for employees to report discrimination and harassment and ensure these mechanisms are confidential where appropriate so employees feel safe using them;
Conduct thorough and prompt investigations on receiving any complaints of discrimination and harassment and take the appropriate action on the findings of the investigation to rectify any issues;
Continually reflect on existing workplace culture and how to foster an inclusive and supportive work environment where diversity is valued;
Encourage open communication and provide support for employees who may feel marginalised.
If you need any assistance with drafting, reviewing or implementing equality and diversity policies, or would like to arrange some training for your staff on these issues, please let us know.