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Real compensation ranges for disability discrimination in UK employment tribunals. Reasonable adjustments failures, s15 claims, Vento bands, worked examples and the factors that decide your payout.

How much compensation can I get for disability discrimination in the UK?

Disability discrimination awards are uncapped under the Equality Act 2010 and typically range from around £8,000 at the bottom end to well over £100,000 where the discrimination was career-ending. The median reported award in disability cases is usually higher than race or sex cases because the financial loss element tends to be larger — disabled claimants often cannot return to comparable work quickly, and future loss projections run for longer.

What counts as disability discrimination at work?

There are six routes to a disability discrimination claim: direct discrimination (s13), indirect discrimination (s19), discrimination arising from disability (s15), failure to make reasonable adjustments (ss20–21), harassment (s26), and victimisation (s27). The most commonly used — and often the most valuable — is s15 "discrimination arising from disability", which captures unfavourable treatment linked to something caused by your disability (for example sickness absence or reduced productivity).

What are reasonable adjustments and why do they matter for compensation?

Section 20 of the Equality Act imposes a positive duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled worker is placed at a substantial disadvantage by a workplace rule, practice or physical feature. Where an employer refuses or delays reasonable adjustments — a phased return, flexible hours, changed duties, specialist equipment — and you suffer as a result, tribunals routinely award in the middle Vento band plus significant financial loss. A failure to adjust is the single most common successful disability claim.

Can my employer defend a s15 claim by saying they did not know about my disability?

Yes — but only if the lack of knowledge was reasonable. Under s15(2), the employer has a knowledge defence if they neither knew nor could reasonably be expected to know that you had a disability. However, once you have told HR, given a fit note, or mentioned a condition that a reasonable employer would investigate, the defence generally fails. Tribunals are unsympathetic to employers who "did not ask" when the signs were obvious.

Can I claim personal injury damages on top of injury to feelings?

Yes, and this is particularly significant in disability cases where the discrimination aggravated or caused a mental health condition. The Judicial College Guidelines put moderate psychiatric damage in a bracket of roughly £6,000–£19,000, moderately severe at £19,000–£54,000, and severe at £54,000–£115,000. These figures sit on top of the Vento award and can double the value of a disability claim that caused a depressive disorder.

Is disability discrimination harder to prove than other types?

Not harder, but more technical. You must first show that your condition meets the statutory definition of disability under s6 and Schedule 1 — a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. "Long-term" means 12 months or more, or likely to last that long. Once disability is established, the burden shifts: the employer must prove that any unfavourable treatment was a proportionate means of a legitimate aim or that they did not know about the disability.

What if I am still employed but on long-term sick leave?

You do not need to have been dismissed to bring a disability claim. Failure to make reasonable adjustments, denial of a phased return, unfair performance management during illness, and exclusion from promotion or training while on sick leave are all actionable. Many disability claims are brought by people still technically on the books but effectively shut out. Compensation covers the impact to date plus the likely future trajectory.

No statutory ceiling on disability awards

Direct, indirect, s15, adjustments, harassment, victimisation

Minimum duration to meet the statutory definition

A successful disability discrimination claim combines injury to feelings under the Vento bands with past and future loss of earnings, and — where the discrimination caused or worsened a mental health condition — personal injury damages under the Judicial College Guidelines. Where the employer refused reasonable adjustments and then dismissed you, six-figure awards are common because future loss can be projected over years rather than months.

The single biggest variable is whether you can return to comparable paid work. A disabled claimant who cannot realistically get back to the same salary — because of the condition itself, the stigma of tribunal proceedings, or both — will usually recover multiples of what a non-disabled claimant in the same position would. Tribunals do not punish claimants for the severity of their impairment; they reflect it in the loss.

One-off failure to implement a simple adjustment that was later put in place, an isolated inappropriate comment about your condition, or a short delay in occupational health referral.

Repeated refusals to make reasonable adjustments, mishandled return-to-work process, s15 unfavourable treatment over sickness absence, dismissal capability-managed without genuine consideration of adjustments.

Sustained harassment about your condition, dismissal in the face of clear medical evidence, employer refused reasonable adjustments that occupational health recommended, resulting in career-ending harm.

Egregious cases — forcing a disabled employee back to work against medical advice, weaponising performance processes against a known disability, driving a claimant out of a whole profession.

Under ss20–21 Equality Act 2010 an employer must take such steps as are reasonable to avoid a substantial disadvantage where a provision, criterion or practice (PCP), a physical feature, or the absence of an auxiliary aid puts a disabled worker at a disadvantage. The duty is positive — the employer has to act, not wait for a request — and it is ongoing.

Common reasonable adjustments that tribunals have endorsed: phased return to work, altered hours, remote or hybrid working, reallocation of non-essential duties, specialist equipment or software, quiet workspace, extra breaks, adjustments to performance targets, more time for assessments, relocation to a closer site, protected trial periods after a return.

"Reasonable" is judged by factors including cost, disruption, and employer size. What is reasonable for a multinational is not reasonable for a micro-business. But cost on its own rarely gets an employer off the hook — tribunals will look at Access to Work funding, the duration of the adjustment, and the value of retaining a trained worker.

Illustrative calculations based on common disability claim patterns. Real awards vary — these are guide figures.

Injury to feelings (Vento bands)

The humiliation, anxiety and loss of dignity caused by the discrimination. In disability cases this is often a smaller slice of the total than in race or sex cases because the financial element dominates — but it still anchors the award.

Past loss of earnings

Wages, bonuses, pension and benefits lost from the date of dismissal (or sickness absence if caused by the discrimination) to the remedy hearing. Sick pay runs out is a key anchor — once SSP ends, full net pay loss begins.

Future loss of earnings

The element that makes disability cases expensive. Where the condition and the dismissal combine to end a career, tribunals can project loss across the remaining working life using actuarial tables (Ogden). Even a modest shortfall of £5,000 a year projected across 20 years is a six-figure head.

Separately calculated from pay loss. For defined benefit pensions the loss can be very substantial and usually needs an actuary. For defined contribution schemes it is the lost employer contributions plus investment growth assumed.

Personal injury damages

Where the discrimination caused or materially worsened a psychiatric condition, the tribunal awards personal injury damages in addition to injury to feelings. Follows the Judicial College Guidelines — roughly £6,000 for mild/moderate through to £115,000 for severe cases with poor prognosis.

For high-handed or oppressive conduct — for example, an employer who openly disbelieves a medically evidenced condition or conducts the internal process in bad faith. Typically £3,000–£15,000, sometimes more.

Up to 25% uplift on compensatory elements where the employer unreasonably failed to follow the ACAS Code. In disability cases this applies routinely to grievances about failure to adjust that were brushed off.

Disability discrimination — full guide

Reasonable adjustments explained

How much for race discrimination

How much for sexual harassment

Vento bands explained

Building a schedule of loss