Key UK legal and financial terms for employment loss expert evidence. Each term links to detailed guides where relevant.
Jump to a term below or explore our complete loss calculation guide.
The basic award is a statutory unfair dismissal award based on age, length of service, and weekly pay.
It is calculated as age multiplied by years of service multiplied by weekly pay, subject to a weekly pay cap of £719. It is separate from the compensatory award and does not require proof of financial loss.
Employment tribunal practice area →Career gap analysis measures the earnings difference between an uninterrupted career path and actual earnings after a family-related career break.
It establishes what a party would have earned had they continued their career uninterrupted versus what they actually earned following a break for family responsibilities. Central to loss of career claims in financial remedy proceedings.
Family law practice area →The compensatory award is the main financial remedy for unfair dismissal, covering actual loss of earnings and related heads.
It covers immediate and future loss of earnings, pension loss, and loss of statutory rights. Currently capped at £118,223 or 52 weeks gross pay until 1 January 2027, when ERA 2025 removes the cap.
ERA 2025 and uncapped awards →CPR Part 35 governs expert evidence in civil proceedings, including personal injury claims.
Experts owe an overriding duty to the court, must provide objective opinions, and reports must comply with Practice Direction 35.
Expert qualifications →The discount rate is the prescribed real rate used to adjust Ogden multipliers in personal injury future loss claims.
Set at -0.25% under the Civil Liability Act 2018, it reflects assumed investment return on a lump sum. A lower rate increases future loss awards.
How loss is calculated →Economic disadvantage quantifies long-term earnings loss following relationship breakdown, especially in Scottish financial remedy cases.
It is a statutory factor under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 measuring the financial impact on a party's long-term earnings.
Family law practice area →ERA 2025 removes the unfair dismissal compensatory award cap from 1 January 2027 and reduces the qualifying period to six months.
It is the most significant change to UK employment law in over a decade for employment tribunal compensation and expert loss evidence.
ERA 2025 guide →Protected characteristics are the grounds on which discrimination claims may be brought under the Equality Act 2010.
They include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Discrimination claims carry uncapped compensation.
Discrimination employment loss →FPR Part 25 governs expert evidence in family proceedings in England and Wales.
Court permission may be required before instructing an expert. Experts owe an overriding duty to the court and must comply with FPR Part 25 practice directions.
Family law practice area →Future loss of earnings compensates projected earnings lost from trial or settlement until recovery or end of working life.
In PI it is capitalised using Ogden Tables; in ET it is typically weekly net loss multiplied by weeks to find comparable employment.
How loss is calculated →Ikarian Reefer duties require expert witnesses to give independent, objective evidence to assist the court.
Established in National Justice Compania Naviera SA v Prudential Assurance Co Ltd [1993], experts must not omit material facts that detract from their conclusions.
Expert qualifications →Injury to feelings is non-financial compensation for distress in discrimination claims, assessed using Vento bands.
It is assessed by the tribunal separately from financial loss of earnings, which employment loss experts quantify.
Discrimination employment loss →Labour market analysis assesses suitable jobs, salary levels, and employment availability within a claimant's capacity.
Employment consultants use sector data and functional limitations to establish residual earning capacity and mitigation.
Labour market analysis service →Loss of career is the financial impact of career interruption, often from family responsibilities during marriage.
It is quantified through career gap analysis in financial remedy proceedings and informs asset division or maintenance.
Divorce and loss of career →Loss of statutory rights is a conventional ET award for losing employment protections, typically £500.
It may need reconsideration under ERA 2025 given the shorter unfair dismissal qualifying period from January 2027.
ET Schedule of Loss guide →Mitigation is the claimant's duty to take reasonable steps to reduce employment-related financial loss.
This includes seeking alternative work, retraining, or accepting comparable employment. Failure to mitigate may reduce compensatory awards.
How loss is calculated →Multiplier and multiplicand are the core PI method for capitalising future loss of earnings into a lump sum.
The multiplicand is annual net earnings loss; the multiplier from Ogden Tables gives present value of future loss.
How loss is calculated →Ogden Tables are actuarial tables used to capitalise future losses in UK personal injury claims.
The 8th Edition (2020) is current, includes disability reduction factors, and applies with the -0.25% discount rate.
Ogden Tables guide →A party-appointed expert is instructed by one side only, unlike a single joint expert.
Each party may instruct their own employment loss expert, though the court may later direct a single joint expert.
How to instruct an expert →Past loss of earnings covers net earnings lost from injury or dismissal up to trial or settlement.
It is calculated over the relevant period net of tax and National Insurance.
How loss is calculated →Pension loss compensates lost pension benefits due to injury, dismissal, or career interruption.
Methods include contribution analysis for DC schemes and actuarial approaches for DB schemes; PI may use Ogden Tables H.
Pension loss calculations →A Polkey reduction lowers ET compensatory awards where dismissal would have occurred anyway despite procedural unfairness.
The tribunal applies a percentage reduction (Polkey v AE Dayton Services Ltd [1987]). Critical in uncapped ERA 2025 cases.
Employment tribunal practice area →A protective award compensates employees for failure to consult on collective redundancies.
It is up to 90 days' gross pay per employee, increasing to 180 days from April 2026 under ERA 2025.
ERA 2025 guide →Residual earning capacity is what a claimant can realistically earn after injury or dismissal.
It considers medical limits, skills, and labour market conditions and drives the PI multiplicand and ET future loss.
Residual earning capacity service →A Schedule of Loss sets out all financial heads of claim in employment tribunal proceedings.
It includes basic award, compensatory loss, pension loss, statutory rights, and injury to feelings in discrimination claims.
ET Schedule of Loss guide →A single joint expert is one expert instructed jointly by all parties, common in family and some ET cases.
Costs are typically shared equally. The expert owes an overriding duty to the court under FPR Part 25 or CPR Part 35.
How to instruct an expert →A Smith v Manchester award is a lump sum for labour market handicap when future PI loss cannot be precisely calculated.
It is typically up to two years' net earnings for claimants with established careers at risk on the open market.
Smith v Manchester guide →Vento bands are guideline ranges for injury to feelings awards in discrimination claims.
2025 figures: lower £1,100 to £11,200; middle £11,200 to £33,700; upper £33,700 to £56,200. Assessed by the tribunal, not the financial expert.
Discrimination employment loss →Vocational rehabilitation supports return to work after injury or dismissal through retraining and employability planning.
Vocational experts assess retraining needs, timescales, and residual earning capacity for expert reports.
Residual earning capacity service →Whistleblowing protects workers who make qualifying disclosures from detriment and uncapped financial loss claims.
From 6 April 2026, sexual harassment disclosures are qualifying disclosures under ERA 2025.
Whistleblowing detriment →Wrongful dismissal is a breach of contract claim, usually for failure to give proper notice.
Damages are typically limited to the notice period but may include significant LTIP or bonus losses for executives.
Wrongful dismissal case type →ERA 2025 expands rights for zero-hours workers, affecting earnings and loss calculations in ET claims.
Changes include guaranteed hours and compensation for cancelled shifts, relevant to baseline earnings evidence.
ERA 2025 guide →Submit your case details and we will match you with a qualified employment loss expert witness for PI, ET, or family law proceedings in England and Wales. Response within 1 business day.
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