Equal Opportunities Review
Michael Rubinstein Publishing publish a handy booklet called Equal Opportunities Review. In June’s edition they have a summary of 2008 discrimination cases heard by Tribunals.
This is very useful as it allows practitioners to remind their clients, both Claimant and Respondent that large Tribunal awards for discrimination are outliers ie they are statistically possible but unlikely events.
Key points:
Average/ Median Compensation Awards in 2008
Age Discrimination £15080/4503
Disability £21,339/£8000
Race £18200/£6325
Sex Discrimination £13312/£9109
Sexual Orientation £33,724/£6364
Combined £37655/£26014
What the numbers tell us is that the one off large 6 figure award do inflate the average. With regard to the median of the 189 successful Sex Discrimination claims 95 were awarded less than £9109. Of the 31 successful Age Discrimination claims 15 were less than £4503
Similarly the average injury to feeling award was £6612 and the median £4800
The total award figure (compensation and injury to feelings) also illuminates. Sex Discrimination for example of the 189 successful claims 79.3% were awarded a total award of between £0 and £19,999.00
Costs were only awarded in 9 cases. In one a Claimant was successful in having the costs of a Grade A fee earner allowed on the basis that: ” With the Respondent conducting their case in such a devious manner, nothing less than a Grade A fee earner would have been appropriate to deal with it.” Ouch!
