What the Vento bands are
The Vento bands are a set of pay ranges that UK employment tribunals use to decide how much to award for “injury to feelings”: the hurt, distress, and upset you suffer because of unlawful treatment at work.
They apply specifically to discrimination and whistleblowing claims. If a tribunal finds you were discriminated against because of a protected characteristic (such as age, sex, race, disability, pregnancy, or religion), or that you suffered a detriment for whistleblowing, it can award compensation for the emotional impact, and the Vento bands tell it roughly how much that should be.
One thing to be clear about from the start: the Vento bands are not part of redundancy pay. If you have simply been made redundant, even in a stressful or badly handled process, the Vento bands do not apply to your situation. They only come into play where there has been unlawful discrimination or whistleblowing detriment on top of, or instead of, an ordinary redundancy.
The three Vento bands
There are three bands. A tribunal picks the band that matches how serious the case is, and then a figure within that band.
Lower band: £1,300 to £12,600
Less serious cases, for example a one-off incident, or discrimination that had a limited or short-lived effect.
Middle band: £12,600 to £37,700
Serious cases that do not merit an award in the upper band. This often covers discrimination sustained over a period of time.
Upper band: £37,700 to £62,900
The most serious cases, for example a lengthy campaign of discriminatory harassment. In the most exceptional cases an award can exceed £62,900.
How a tribunal decides which band applies
A tribunal looks at the effect the discrimination had on you, not just what happened. In broad terms, it weighs up the nature of the discrimination, how long it went on for, and the impact it had on your feelings and wellbeing. A single, isolated incident tends to sit lower. Sustained or serious mistreatment tends to sit higher.
The bands take their name from the Court of Appeal case that established this approach, Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2002] EWCA Civ 1871. That case set out the principle of grouping injury-to-feelings awards into bands, and the figures have been updated for inflation ever since through the annual Presidential Guidance.
It is worth remembering that injury to feelings is only one element of a discrimination award. A tribunal can also compensate for financial losses (such as lost earnings) and, in some cases, personal injury or aggravated damages, none of which are capped by the Vento bands.
Frequently asked questions
Do Vento bands apply to my redundancy?
Almost certainly not on their own. Vento bands set compensation for injury to feelings in discrimination and whistleblowing claims, not for redundancy. A standard redundancy, even a stressful one, does not attract a Vento award. They only become relevant if your redundancy also involved unlawful discrimination (for example being selected because of a protected characteristic such as age, sex, race, disability, pregnancy, or religion) or whistleblowing detriment. If that is the case, a discrimination claim could sit alongside your redundancy claim, and a Vento award would relate to that discrimination, not to the redundancy pay itself.
What's the difference between the three bands?
The three bands reflect how serious the injury to feelings was. The lower band (£1,300 to £12,600) is for less serious cases, such as a one-off incident. The middle band (£12,600 to £37,700) is for serious cases that are not serious enough for the top band, often where discrimination continued over time. The upper band (£37,700 to £62,900) is for the most serious cases, such as a lengthy campaign of harassment, and the most exceptional cases can go above £62,900. A tribunal chooses the band, and then the point within it, based on the nature, duration, and impact of the discrimination on you.
Can I get more than the upper band?
Yes, in the most exceptional cases. The upper band tops out at £62,900, but the Presidential Guidance recognises that the most exceptional cases can justify an award above that figure. This is rare and reserved for the gravest cases. Separately, injury-to-feelings compensation is only one part of a discrimination award. A tribunal can also award financial losses (such as lost earnings) and, in some cases, compensation for personal injury or aggravated damages, which sit outside the Vento bands.
Are Vento bands the same as redundancy pay?
No. They are completely separate. Statutory redundancy pay is calculated from your age, length of service, and weekly pay (subject to a cap), and it applies when you are made redundant with at least two years' service. Vento bands, by contrast, compensate for the hurt, distress, and injury to feelings caused by unlawful discrimination or whistleblowing detriment. One is about losing your job through redundancy; the other is about being treated unlawfully. It is possible to be entitled to both, but only if your situation involves genuine discrimination in addition to the redundancy.
Where can I find real tribunal decisions that applied these bands?
Individual employment tribunal decisions are published on the government's tribunal decisions register at gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions. That is where you can read how tribunals have applied the Vento bands to real cases. It is important not to confuse the two: the bands themselves come from the Presidential Guidance (reissued each April), while the decisions register is simply where you can find individual rulings that have applied those bands.
Further reading
- Acas: if you’ve been discriminated against at work. Practical guidance on your options, including raising a complaint and time limits.
- Acas: discrimination and the Equality Act 2010. An overview of what counts as unlawful discrimination at work.
- GOV.UK: employment tribunal decisions. Where you can read individual tribunal decisions that have applied the Vento bands. Note this is a record of decisions, not the source of the bands themselves, which come from the Presidential Guidance.
FairEnough is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Always seek independent legal advice before signing any documents. Information shown is for general guidance based on UK statutory entitlements.