Injury to feelings
Compensation for the distress and humiliation caused by discrimination, assessed using three bands that are uprated every April.
Do I need medical evidence to claim injury to feelings?
No, medical evidence is not a strict requirement, though it can help support a claim, especially for the higher bands. Tribunals often rely on the claimant's own evidence about how the discrimination affected them, alongside evidence from people who noticed the impact, such as family, friends or colleagues.
What are the Vento bands for claims presented on or after 6 April 2026?
There are three bands: a lower band of £1,300 to £12,600 for less serious cases, a middle band of £12,600 to £37,700 for more serious cases that do not merit the top band, and an upper band of £37,700 to £62,900 for the most serious cases, such as a lengthy campaign of discriminatory harassment.
Is injury to feelings the same as compensation for financial loss?
No. Injury to feelings compensates for the distress and hurt caused by discrimination itself, separately from any financial loss such as lost pay. In a successful discrimination claim, a tribunal can award both an injury to feelings sum and a compensatory award for financial losses, calculated separately.
Can I get injury to feelings compensation in an ordinary unfair dismissal claim?
Generally no. Injury to feelings awards are specific to discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010. An ordinary unfair dismissal claim, without any discrimination element, does not attract this head of loss, though the same set of facts sometimes gives rise to both types of claim.
What pushes a case into the upper Vento band?
Tribunals look at factors such as how long the discriminatory treatment went on, how serious and repeated it was, whether it was a single incident or a sustained campaign, and the severity of the impact on the claimant's health and life. A single isolated remark is very unlikely to reach the upper band on its own.
Is there also a possible award for aggravated damages?
Yes, in some cases. Aggravated damages can be awarded on top of an injury to feelings award where the way the discrimination was carried out, or the employer's conduct during the case, made the distress significantly worse — for example, through high-handed, malicious or insulting behaviour.
Employment Tribunal · Glossary
Last reviewed: August 2026
Employment Tribunal track
compensation is an award, made in discrimination claims, for the distress and humiliation the claimant suffered, assessed within three bands known as the Vento bands.
Where this comes from
Vento v West Yorkshire Police [2002] EWCA Civ 1871
— the Court of Appeal decision that established the three-band framework.
— the statute under which discrimination claims, and this head of loss, arise.
Presidential Guidance on Vento bands
— the annually uprated figures published for tribunals to apply.
Why discrimination claims have this extra head of loss
Most employment tribunal claims, such as ordinary unfair dismissal, compensate for financial loss — lost pay, lost benefits, the cost of finding a new job. Discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 recognise something additional: the personal distress, humiliation, and injury to dignity that discrimination itself causes, separate from any money lost. Injury to feelings compensation exists to address that non-financial harm.
The Court of Appeal in Vento v West Yorkshire Police set out three broad bands to guide tribunals, rather than leaving the figure entirely at large. The bands are uprated each April to keep pace with inflation, so the applicable figures depend on exactly when the claim was presented.
The three Vento bands
- Lower band: £1,300 to £12,600.
- For less serious cases, such as a single incident or an isolated act of discrimination.
- Middle band: £12,600 to £37,700.
- For more serious cases that do not merit an award in the highest band.
- Upper band: £37,700 to £62,900.
- For the most serious cases, such as a lengthy campaign of discriminatory harassment.
These figures apply to claims presented on or after 6 April 2026. Because the bands are uprated annually, always check the current Presidential Guidance figures for the date your claim was actually presented.
How it works in practice
A claimant experiences repeated derogatory comments about a protected characteristic over several months, raises it through a grievance that is not properly investigated, and eventually resigns and brings a discrimination claim. The tribunal finds the treatment amounted to unlawful harassment.
Repeated over months
Injury to feelings award
Because the treatment was repeated and had a clear ongoing impact but fell short of the most severe, sustained campaigns that reach the upper band, the tribunal places the award within the middle band. This is awarded separately from, and in addition to, any compensatory award for lost pay.
- Assuming any discrimination claim gets the upper band.
- Most awards fall in the lower or middle band; the upper band is reserved for the most serious, sustained cases.
- Not explaining the personal impact.
- Give the tribunal a clear account of how the treatment actually affected you, not just what happened.
- Confusing this with financial compensation.
- Injury to feelings is separate from, and additional to, any award for lost pay or benefits.
- Using outdated band figures.
- The bands change every April — check the figures that applied when your claim was presented, not the current ones by default.
Frequently asked questions
Sources & further reading
- Vento v West Yorkshire Police [2002] EWCA Civ 1871
- (legislation.gov.uk)
- Employment tribunals
Building a discrimination claim?
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Last reviewed: August 2026.
Vento band figures checked against Presidential Guidance for claims presented on or after 6 April 2026.
This page is explanatory only and is not legal advice. Start My Claim is self-service software, not a law firm — its tools help you build and run your own case.