Discrimination compensation guide 2005: Foreword

Foreword to the EOR Guide to Compensation in Discrimination Cases for 2005, by Nicola Dandridge, Head of Equality at Thompsons Solicitors.

Nearly every week there seems to be a headline about an employment tribunal that has awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds to a claimant as compensation for unlawful discrimination. Of course, it is always those awards that catch people's attention. But as any employment law practitioner will know, most claimants do not receive anything like that amount.

The annual statistics from Equal Opportunities Review prove the point. For instance, in 2004, the biggest award in a sex discrimination case was £175,000 but the median award was much more modest - £6,243.

The same applies to race and disability discrimination cases. The highest award for a race discrimination case was £90,158 and in disability it was £203,167. But the median awards were £6,104 and £10,712.

But as employment specialists how are we going to know whether a particular case will attract a large award, or something more modest? It is a good question, because assessing compensation properly is crucially important for a number of reasons.

Firstly and most importantly, the award of compensation is the primary mechanism for rectifying the injustice of discrimination. If compensation is too low, the injustice has not been remedied.

Secondly, if claimants and employers have differing views as to how much a claim is worth, it makes resolution of the claim very difficult. I cannot count the number of times I have been involved with cases where the employer's assessment of the value of a case is woefully inadequate. And the claimant's assessment wildly optimistic.

When there is no authoritative way of guiding both parties and their representatives towards a common and realistic valuation of the claim, then it is often difficult to resolve the case, and unnecessary litigation may follow.

And, of course, compensation in discrimination claims is unlimited. We are not talking of insignificant sums of money where mistakes do not matter. They do.

So it is all the more surprising that in the past there been so little useful guidance on how to go about assessing compensation. There are many books and guides on the legal principles involved in establishing liability, but really very little on how to go about calculating loss.

Which makes the publication of the EOR Guide to assessing compensation so welcome. This is a practical and well-researched guide that will provide assistance to lawyers, advisors, employers and claimants alike in enabling them to assess compensation.

It is unique in focusing solely on compensation. It summarises not only the legal principles involved, but provides crucial analyses of previous tribunal awards. This is invaluable information which is not otherwise readily available.

With this publication all discrimination practitioners can now approach this difficult and complex area of how to assess compensation in an authoritative way. This book will be an invaluable addition to any practitioner's library.

I, for one, look forward to having it on my shelf.

Nicola Dandridge
Head of Equality
Thompsons Solicitors