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Compensation for unfair dismissal has two parts. This tool works out the basic award - the part that follows a fixed statutory formula based on your age, length of service and weekly pay. The larger, case-specific compensatory award for your actual losses is separate and is not shown here. Enter your details below for the basic award figure.
Covers England and Wales. This tool gives legal information, not legal advice.
Before tax. Capped at £751 a week for the basic award.
The basic award uses the same fixed formula as a statutory redundancy payment. For each complete year of serviceyou receive a number of weeks' pay that depends on your age during that year: half a week for years worked under 22, one week for years worked between 22 and 40, and one and a half weeks for years worked at 41 or over.
Three statutory limits apply: a maximum of 20 yearsof service counts, a week's pay is capped at £751 (for dismissals on or after 6 April 2026), and the total basic award cannot exceed £22,530. The basic award is generally tax-free. Our employment tribunal compensation guide explains how the awards fit together.
The basic award is usually the smaller of the two parts. The compensatory awardcompensates for the financial loss you actually suffer - mainly lost earnings, past and future - and is subject to a much higher cap (the lower of around £123,543 or 52 weeks' pay). It can be substantially larger than the basic award, but it can also be small or nil if you find a new job quickly, because you are expected to take reasonable steps to limit your losses. Because it turns on your specific circumstances, a calculator cannot estimate it reliably - that is the part Ari helps you build and evidence.
The basic award is one of two parts of unfair dismissal compensation. It is worked out using a fixed statutory formula - a number of weeks' pay based on your age and complete years of service - in the same way as a statutory redundancy payment. The other part, the compensatory award, covers your actual financial losses and is usually larger.
For each complete year of service you get half a week's pay for years worked under age 22, one week's pay for years worked between 22 and 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for years worked at 41 or over. A maximum of 20 years counts, a week's pay is capped at £751 (from 6 April 2026), and the basic award cannot exceed £22,530.
For ordinary unfair dismissal you normally need at least 2 years' continuous service (this is set to reduce to 6 months under the Employment Rights Act 2025, which is not yet in force). Some dismissals are automatically unfair - for example for whistleblowing, pregnancy, or asserting a statutory right - and those have no qualifying period at all.
No. It works out only the statutory basic award - the part that follows a formula. The compensatory award for lost earnings and other losses is separate, usually larger, and depends on facts a calculator cannot see, such as how long you are out of work and what you do to find new work. The figure here is also before any reductions that may apply.
The basic award is generally tax-free, in the same way as a statutory redundancy payment. By contrast, parts of a compensatory award above £30,000 can be taxable. This is general information, not tax advice.
This calculator applies published statutory rules in code - it is not AI generated. It is built on:
We review these figures and rules regularly, but employment law changes - statutory rates uprate every April and reforms come into force on their own timetable - so what you see here may not yet reflect the very latest change. Always confirm the current position on the official source above (legislation.gov.uk, gov.uk or acas.org.uk) before relying on a figure or date. This is legal information, not legal advice.
Ari helps you check whether you have a case, work through the compensatory award based on your real losses, and build everything you need to make your claim.
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