The headlines, unsurprisingly, focus on the numbers.
That is expected. However, the figures themselves are not the key issue. What matters more is what drives them.
Updated Vento bands
The Vento bands have increased, meaning compensation for discrimination claims is now:
- Lower band: £1,300 to £12,600
- Middle band: £12,600 to £37,700
- Upper band: £37,700 to £62,900
And in exceptional cases, more.
Why this matters for employers
This is not just an incremental change. It reinforces a longer-term trend: discrimination claims are becoming more valuable, and Tribunals are increasingly focusing on the impact on the individual, not just the conduct itself.
This is where costs start to escalate. In practice, employers tend to run into difficulty when they:
- treat complaints informally when they should not
- delay investigations
- fail to take concerns seriously
- allow issues to drift
- react defensively rather than constructively
These issues rarely feel serious at the time. But it is exactly the sort of detail that tribunals later scrutinise.
In practice, the key issue is not just what happened. It is also how the employer responded.
At Tees, we often find that the employer’s handling of the complaint often shapes the level of compensation.
Employers can often contain issues early, but poor handling makes them significantly more expensive. The most expensive discrimination cases are not always those involving the worst incidents at the outset. Often, they are the cases employers make worse.
A reminder from case law
One is Cartamundi v Worboyes UKEAT/0096/09/CEA, where the issue was not just the racial remark. It was what followed:
- complaints not properly addressed
- pressure to drop the issue
- demotion after concerns were raised
The Tribunal found race discrimination and victimisation, and the employer lost on appeal. I acted for the Claimant in this case early in my career, and it remains a clear reminder of how quickly risk escalates when employers mishandle concerns.
Questions employers should be asking
In practical terms, employers should be asking:
- Did we take this seriously from the outset?
- Was the investigation handled properly?
- Did we support the individual appropriately?
- Would our response stand up to scrutiny?
The direction of travel
Looking ahead, with compensation levels continuing to rise, the real risk for employers often lies in the response, not just the underlying allegation.
As the bands increase again, the margin for error gets smaller. This is not an area where a wait and see approach tends to age particularly well.
If you would like us to review your organisation’s approach to complaints and investigations, our employment team at Tees would be very happy to assist. We regularly support employers in addressing these issues early, before they develop into more complex disputes.
