Injury to Feeling and Vento Bands
Injury to Feeling and Vento Bands
What are Vento bands
In successful claims for discrimination an Employment Tribunal can award damages to employees for injury to feelings. For example for:
- Been humiliated by their employer;
- Received degrading treatment; or
- Suffered distress.
Damages awarded for injury to feelings are separate from compensation for financial losses.
The bands of awards for injury to feelings are known as the Vento bands after the case in which the guidance was first set out – Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire.
Injury to feelings awards are entirely discretionary and are made at some level in most successful discrimination claims. They are awarded to reflect the injury to feelings suffered by a worker, instead of being perceived as a punishment to the employer.
Current Vento Bands
The bands for compensation are generally reviewed annual.
In respect of claims presented on or after 6 April 2024, the Vento bands are:
- a lower band of £1,200 to £11,700 (less serious cases);
- a middle band of £11,700 to £35,200 (cases that do not merit an award in the upper band); and,
- an upper band of £35,200 to £58,700 (the most serious cases), with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £58,700.