Tuesday 18 August 2009

Dont Seek to Punish with Injury to Feelings Awards!

Case in Point - It has been made clear in recent case law that an injury to feelings award is not punitive. In Vento, Mummery LJ described the kind of matters which can be the subject matter of compensation for injury to feelings:
"Subjective feelings of upset, frustration, worry, anxiety, mental distress, fear, grief, anguish, humiliation, unhappiness, stress, depression" (paragraph 50).

The tribunal in Woodward was influenced by the employer's discriminatory conduct and effectively adopted a punitive approach in assessing the amount of compensation for injury to feelings. The EAT confirmed that an injury to feelings award is not a punitive award Corus Hotels Plc v Woodward & Anor [2006] UKEAT 0536/05/1703, 17 March 2006.

No comments: