Employment law insights
Future loss should not necessarily end on a claimant’s 65th birthday
J Davidson was a coach driver for National Express Ltd who was dismissed for failing an alcohol test. The tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair because the appeal process was flawed, but applied a 75% reduction to the award to reflect the chance a fair appeal would have resulted in dismissal.
The claimant appealed the tribunal’s reasoning for the limitation of future loss compensation to the age of 65 and claimed she intended to work until age of 70. The employment appeal tribunal upheld the appeal relating to the future loss calculation and the case was remitted to the same judge to recalculate the compensatory award based on updated evidence in respect of working until the age of 70.
Combined with the forthcoming abolition of the cap on unfair dismissal compensation, this case is a reminder that employees might seek substantial compensation for future loss, particularly towards the end of their career.