Knowledge

The cap on the value of the compensation that the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal can award is likely to increase next month, but politicians are set to debate competing proposals to lift the maximum award for discrimination claims from £10,000 to either £30,000 or £50,000.

The background to the debate is that in mid-2024, the Jersey Employment Forum recommended to ministers that the maximum awards for unfair dismissal, discrimination-related claims, statutory and contractual breaches all be increased. See our previous briefing here.

The current limit on compensation for discrimination claims is £10,000, with a maximum award of £5,000 for hurt and distress. The proposal from the Social Security Minister, in line with the recommendation from the Employment Forum, is that this should be replaced with a cap of whichever is greater of £50,000 or 52 weeks' pay, of which up to £30,000 may be awarded for hurt and distress.

Other changes have been recommended for compensation limits for unfair dismissal, breaches of statutory rights and contractual breaches.

The proposed recommendations were due to be placed before the States Assembly for debate before the end of January 2025. However, the debate has now been postponed to 4 February, following the tabling of an amendment to set the maximum limit for compensation awards in relation to employment-related discrimination claims at £30,000 rather than £50,000. 

According to the report on the proposed amendment, the rationale for amending the maximum compensation appears to be predominantly commercial: 

• the current proposal to increase the maximum compensation to £50,000 may be excessive when considering the inflation figures for the past decade;
• fixing a compensation limit at £50,000 could place an undue financial burden on businesses as it would increase their potential liability for employment-related discrimination claims substantially; and
• the proposed increase to £30,000 would be aligned with the jurisdiction of the Petty Debts Court which is regarded as an appropriate benchmark. 

The full report can be found here.