New Limits on Awards for Unfair Dismissal and Redundancy Payments

25 January 2005
NEW LIMITS ON AWARDS FOR UNFAIR DISMISSAL AND REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS
The Department for Employment and Learning today announced that payments and awards made to workers in employment rights cases are to rise in line with inflation. An Order made by the Department brings the new limits into operation from 6 February 2005.

A spokesperson for the Department said: "The increased limits affect statutory redundancy payments; the basic and compensatory awards for unfair dismissal; the limit on guarantee payments made when employees are not provided with work; and the minimum basic award for unfair dismissal in health and safety and certain other cases. For example, the limit on the award for unfair dismissal is raised from Ł55,000 to Ł56,800 while the maximum amount of 'a week's pay' for the purpose of calculating redundancy payment rises from Ł270 to Ł280."

Printed copies of the Order are available from the Stationery Office, 16 Arthur Street, Belfast, quoting ISBN No: 0-337-95793-2, priced Ł3.00.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Article 33(1) to (4) of the Employment Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 provides that the limits on various awards and payments under employment legislation will be index-linked, i.e. will be varied by Order if the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for September is higher or lower than the index of the previous September.

The new limits reflect changes in the RPI between September, 2003 and September, 2004 (3.1% - source: ONS, all items RPI).

The Department for Employment and Learning is legally required to make the up-rating Order and to bring the new limits into operation as soon as practicable. The changes being made involve no changes to the structure of awards and other payments, or to employers' management systems.
A table of the increase in limits from 6 February, 2005 is attached.

For further information contact the DEL Press Office on 028 9025 7872.

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