UK Unfair Dismissal Award Estimator — 2025/26 rates
If you win an unfair dismissal claim, you can receive two types of award. The basic award is calculated exactly like statutory redundancy pay (based on age, service, and capped weekly pay — up to £19,290 in 2025/26). The compensatory award covers actual financial losses caused by the dismissal, including lost wages, benefits, and future losses, capped at £115,115 or 52 weeks' gross pay (whichever is lower).
The basic award follows the same formula as statutory redundancy pay. For each complete year of continuous service (up to 20 years), you receive a multiplier based on your age during that year, applied to your capped weekly pay (£643 in 2025/26):
The maximum basic award in 2025/26 is £19,290 (20 years × 1.5 × £643). The basic award can be reduced if the tribunal finds you contributed to your own dismissal — for example, by provoking the employer. It can also be reduced if you unreasonably refused an offer of reinstatement.
The compensatory award compensates you for the actual financial loss flowing from the dismissal. It is meant to put you in the position you would have been in if you had not been dismissed. The components include:
You have a duty to mitigate — to take reasonable steps to find another job. If you turn down a reasonable offer of alternative employment, or make no effort to find work, the tribunal can reduce the compensatory award significantly.
Three things can reduce an award below what the headline figures suggest:
Polkey reduction: Even if a dismissal was procedurally unfair (the employer didn't follow a fair process), the tribunal can reduce the compensatory award if it decides a fair process would probably have led to dismissal anyway. A tribunal might say: "The dismissal was unfair because no consultation occurred, but the employer would have dismissed you anyway in a fair process — we reduce the award by 50%." This is called a Polkey reduction (from the 1987 House of Lords case Polkey v AE Dayton Services).
Contributory fault: If your own conduct contributed to the dismissal, both the basic and compensatory awards can be reduced by a percentage. The tribunal assesses the degree of fault. In cases of genuine misconduct, reductions of 25–100% are not uncommon.
ACAS Code non-compliance: If either party unreasonably failed to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, the tribunal can adjust the award up or down by up to 25%. If the employer failed to follow the Code, your award can increase by up to 25%. If you failed to raise a grievance or follow a process, it can decrease.
The process is sequential and has strict deadlines at each stage:
The majority of Employment Tribunal claims settle before reaching a full hearing — estimates suggest around 60–70% are resolved via ACAS conciliation, settlement agreements, or withdrawal. Settlement amounts vary widely but a typical range for straightforward unfair dismissal cases is 3–9 months' gross salary, depending on service length, strength of the case, and the employer's appetite for a hearing.
A settlement agreement (formerly called a compromise agreement) is a legally binding contract in which you waive your tribunal rights in return for a financial payment. You must receive independent legal advice on its contents — the employer usually contributes to the cost of this advice (typically £250–£500 + VAT).
Certain dismissals are automatically unfair — meaning the tribunal does not consider whether the employer acted reasonably, and there is no minimum service requirement. These include dismissal for:
For automatically unfair dismissal, there is no requirement to have 2 years' service — you can bring a claim from day one of employment. The basic award minimum is 4 weeks' pay for dismissal on automatically unfair grounds.
You must start the ACAS early conciliation process within 3 months minus one day of your dismissal (or the last act of discrimination). This is a strict deadline. If you miss it, the tribunal will almost certainly reject your claim. There are very limited exceptions — only if it was not reasonably practicable to bring the claim in time.
ACAS conciliation pauses the clock. Once ACAS issues the conciliation certificate (because conciliation failed or you chose to proceed), you typically have a minimum of one month to file the ET1, or the remainder of the original 3-month period if longer.
You must start ACAS early conciliation within 3 months minus one day of your dismissal. This is a strict deadline. Late claims are almost always rejected. Contact ACAS as soon as possible after dismissal.
Generally no — you need 2 years' continuous service for ordinary unfair dismissal. However, automatically unfair dismissals (pregnancy, whistleblowing, trade union activities, etc.) have no minimum service requirement.
The average unfair dismissal award is typically £10,000–£15,000, well below the maximum. However, cases involving discrimination have no cap on the compensatory award, and injury to feelings awards can significantly increase total compensation.
Compensation limits from GOV.UK Employment Tribunal and Acas.
Figures are estimates for guidance only. See about this site — how we source data and what these tools can and cannot do.
Researched and maintained by Iulian, founder of Flux Media Systems. General information, not professional advice — about this site & our sources →