Focus on ...Compensation

Recent tribunal statistics demonstrate the shocking amounts of compensation awarded in discrimination claims. The statistics reveal a 56% increase in accepted claims, obviously a cause for concern for businesses. Interestingly, compensation awards for Disability Discrimination claims are highest, resulting in an average award of £52,087!

Empire HR has drawn up a list of average compensation awards for each type of discrimination:

TYPE OF DISCRIMINATION	AVERAGE AWARD	BIGGEST AWARD
Disability	£52,087	£729,347
Sexual Orientation	£20,384	£163,725
Sex Discrimination	£19,449	£422,366
Race Discrimination	£18,584	£374,922
Age Discrimination	£10,931	£48,710
Religious Discrimination	£4,886	£9,500

When considering these figures it's important to bear in mind that a very high percentage of claims are actually settled before it gets to the tribunal stage. The figures also fail to take into account the legal fees incurred by businesses in defending the claims.