Remedy hearing

Winning on liability is only half the battle. The remedy hearing is where the tribunal decides what you actually receive — and how you prepare for it can be worth as much as winning the case itself.

What is a remedy hearing in the employment tribunal?

A remedy hearing is a separate hearing held after the tribunal has already decided that you win your claim (the liability stage). At a remedy hearing the tribunal decides what you are awarded: how much compensation, and whether reinstatement or re-engagement should be ordered. It is not another chance to argue whether the dismissal or discrimination happened. The focus is entirely on what you are owed.

Is a remedy hearing always separate from the main hearing?

Not always. In simpler cases the tribunal may deal with both liability and remedy on the same day, asking you to be ready to give remedy evidence if you win. For more complex cases involving large financial losses, pension calculations, or ongoing medical evidence, the tribunal will list a separate remedy hearing, sometimes months after the liability judgment.

What evidence do I need at a remedy hearing?

You will need: payslips and a schedule of loss setting out your financial losses; evidence of your attempts to find new work (job applications, rejection letters, confirmation of new employment and its salary); pension documents if pension loss is in issue; and if you are claiming injury to feelings for discrimination, a personal statement describing the impact on your health and life. Medical reports strengthen a psychiatric injury claim but are not required for a standard injury to feelings award.

Do I have to prove I looked for another job?

Yes. You are under a duty to take reasonable steps to minimise your financial loss. This is called mitigation of loss. If the tribunal finds you made little effort to find work, or turned down a reasonable job offer without good reason, it will reduce your compensatory award accordingly. Keep records of every application, interview and response. The burden of proving you failed to mitigate falls on the employer, not you, but you need evidence ready to rebut it.

Can the tribunal order my employer to give me my job back?

Yes. Reinstatement (returning you to exactly the same role) or re-engagement (a comparable role) are available orders. In practice they are rarely made, because tribunals recognise that forcing two parties to resume a relationship that has broken down is rarely workable. If you want reinstatement, say so clearly in your schedule of loss. If the tribunal refuses, it will usually award additional compensation.

Is compensation for unfair dismissal capped?

Yes, for the compensatory award only. It is capped at the lower of one year's gross pay or the statutory maximum (currently £123,543 for dismissals on or after 6 April 2026). The cap does not apply to automatically unfair dismissal (for example, dismissal for whistleblowing or asserting a statutory right). Discrimination compensation is uncapped. The basic award has a separate cap on weekly pay.

What is a schedule of loss and do I need one?

A schedule of loss is a document setting out every sum you are claiming: basic award, compensatory award, injury to feelings, pension loss, ACAS uplift, with each calculation clearly shown. The tribunal will almost always direct you to exchange schedules before a remedy hearing. Producing a clear, numbered schedule significantly assists the tribunal and helps settlement discussions.

Employment Tribunal · Glossary

Winning on liability is only half the battle. The remedy hearing is where the tribunal decides what you actually receive — and how you prepare for it can be worth as much as winning the case itself.

Last reviewed: June 2026

Employment Tribunal track

is a tribunal hearing held after liability has been established — after you have won on whether a dismissal was unfair or discrimination occurred — at which the tribunal decides how much compensation you are awarded and whether reinstatement or re-engagement should be ordered.

Where this comes from

Employment Rights Act 1996, ss.112–124

— reinstatement, re-engagement and the basic and compensatory award framework for unfair dismissal.

Equality Act 2010, ss.119–124

— uncapped compensation for discrimination, including injury to feelings.

Polkey v A E Dayton Services Ltd [1987] UKHL 8

— governs reductions to the compensatory award where dismissal would probably have occurred anyway.

Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2002] EWCA Civ 1871

— established the three bands for injury to feelings awards in discrimination cases.

gov.uk — What you can claim from an employment tribunal

What a remedy hearing actually is

An employment tribunal splits every contested claim into two questions. The first — liability — asks whether the employer did something unlawful: was the dismissal unfair? Did discrimination occur? If the claimant succeeds, the tribunal has to answer the second question:

what should happen now?

The remedy hearing is the setting in which that second question is answered.

In straightforward cases the tribunal deals with both questions on the same day, asking claimants to be ready to give remedy evidence if they win. For more complex cases — those involving substantial future loss, pension calculations, or ongoing medical evidence — the tribunal will list a separate remedy hearing, sometimes months after the liability judgment. That gap can feel anticlimactic, but it also gives you time to prepare properly.

Three things are in play at a remedy hearing. First,

: the tribunal returns you to your old job on the same terms, as if you were never dismissed. Second,

: a different but comparable role, possibly with an associated company. Third, and by far the most common outcome,

— made up of the basic award, the compensatory award, and in discrimination cases, injury to feelings.

At the remedy hearing you are not re-arguing whether the dismissal was unfair. That is settled. The hearing is about quantum — the amount — and the evidence you need is quite different from the liability evidence. Many claimants are well-prepared for the liability stage and underprepared for remedy. That mismatch can be expensive.

The tribunal approaches remedy on the principle of putting you in the position you would have been in had the dismissal not happened — not to punish the employer, but to compensate the specific loss you actually suffered. That means your evidence about what happened after the dismissal matters as much as what happened before it.

Two concepts shape the size of the compensatory award in almost every case. First, the

: you must take reasonable steps to find other work after dismissal. If you do not, the tribunal will reduce the compensatory award to reflect what you would have earned had you made reasonable efforts. Second, the possibility of a

: if the employer can show that even a fair procedure would probably have ended in your dismissal, the compensatory award is reduced by the percentage reflecting that chance. Both concepts can take a substantial bite out of even a large award.

How it works in practice

Dayo is dismissed for gross misconduct in March 2025. The tribunal finds the dismissal

— the investigation was superficial and the decision to dismiss fell outside the range of reasonable responses. Dayo wins on liability.

At the remedy hearing in October 2025, the employer argues two things. First, a Polkey reduction of 50%, on the basis that even a fair investigation would probably have resulted in a final written warning and eventual dismissal a few months later. Second, a 25% reduction for contributory conduct because Dayo behaved poorly during the disciplinary process itself.

The basic award is fixed by statute and is not affected by the Polkey reduction. Dayo had 8 years of service, was aged 38, with weekly gross pay of

Basic award (8 yrs × 1 × £620)

Less contributory fault (25%)

The compensatory award is where the real argument happens. Dayo was unemployed for seven months before finding a new job at £200 per week less. Future loss is agreed at two years on the reduced salary:

Past loss (7 months at £620/wk)

Future loss (2 yrs at £200/wk difference)

Loss of statutory rights

Polkey reduction — 50%

Contributory fault — 25%

Compensatory award (approx.)

£3,720 + £10,005 = £13,725

. Dayo won the case, but the remedy stage cut the headline figure significantly. This is why the remedy evidence — and the arguments against Polkey and contributory fault — matter as much as the liability judgment.

Common pitfalls for claimants

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

Preparing for a remedy hearing?

Start My Claim helps you build your schedule of loss, track your mitigation evidence, and prepare every head of claim — so remedy gets the same attention as liability.

Last reviewed: June 2026.

Statutory references checked against the Employment Rights Act 1996 and Equality Act 2010 as in force on 26 May 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.