Payout for unfair dismissal should rise - report

The Jersey Employment Forum made a series of recommendations on the compensation available to people who are unfairly dismissed

An independent body has said people who are unfairly dismissed from their job in Jersey should get more compensation.

The Jersey Employment Forum put forward a number of recommendations in a report on the compensation available to people in cases handled by the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal.

These include increasing the amount a person can be awarded in a breach of contract case from £10,000 to £30,000.

The recommendations were made after a consultation which the forum said received 15 responses.

The forum also said the scale of compensation for unfair dismissals, which sets out the level of the award according to years of service, should be extended beyond the current five-year maximum period of employment.

It said the tribunal should be able to apply up to an extra 25% on compensation levels if an employer's conduct has been "particularly egregious".

According to the report, the maximum number of weeks' pay that may be awarded for breaches of an employee's statutory rights should be increased from four to eight weeks.

It also said the maximum award in employment-related discrimination cases should be replaced with a cap of £50,000 or 52 weeks' pay, depending on what is greater, of which up to £30,000 may be awarded for hurt and distress.

The current cap is set at £10,000 for financial loss, of which a maximum of £5,000 may be awarded for hurt and distress.