You may passionately want an apology for the way you have been treated, or compensation for the trauma and stress of the dismissal proceedings or the disruption to your career. You may just want your day in court to see your headteacher or head of department cross examined about their actions (or lack of them). People have a variety of expectations but the reality is that the tribunal has limited powers as to the remedies it can provide. 

Apologies

Even if you win your case, you will not necessarily get an apology from your governors or headteacher. The only 'vindication' you will get from the tribunal is the piece of paper confirming the tribunal's decision that you were unfairly dismissed, together with the reasons.   

Getting your job back

The remedies that a tribunal has power to award for unfair dismissal are re instatement, re engagement or compensation. While it is possible to ask for re instatement or re engagement (they are broadly similar), tribunals are generally loath to make an order for either.   

Financial compensation

The reality is that by the time the parties have reached a tribunal hearing, the relationship between them has deteriorated so far as to make re instatement or re engagement impractical. Monetary compensation is, in almost every case, all you can expect from an unfair dismissal claim. 

There are also restrictions on the amount of compensation you can recover and what you can be compensated for. Compensation is calculated under two separate headings: a basic award which is calculated in the same way as a statutory redundancy payment and a compensatory award which is designed to put the employee back in the same financial position they were in before the dismissal.   

Compensation is awarded only for actual financial loss resulting from the dismissal, so it will include loss of salary and pension contributions, loss of any other benefits such as reduced school fees for your children, and expenses incurred because of the dismissal (possibly removal expenses if you have had to move house to take up a new post). Credit will have to be given for any earnings since dismissal and for any social security benefits received. You have a duty to try to find another job as quickly as possible in order to 'mitigate your loss'. 

The tribunal has power to award compensation not only for the period from the date of dismissal to the date when your case is heard, but also for future loss, that is loss which has not occurred at the date of the hearing. 

Future loss is in the discretion of the tribunal and will depend very largely on your prospects for securing another post quickly. If you have worked in a particular sector for a long time, live in an isolated community or if you are approaching retirement age, it may be that much more difficult for you to find another job. The tribunal will take these factors into account when deciding the compensation appropriate to your case. 

In practice, however, tribunals rarely award future loss for a lengthy period because there are so many uncertainties as to what might have happened if the employee had stayed in the job. 

Provided that you are aware of the limitations on employment tribunals and what you stand to gain from winning an unfair dismissal claim, you will not be disappointed.   

You should consult ATL as soon as possible for advice if you believe you may have been unfairly dismissed. The time limit for bringing a claim of unfair dismissal to the employment tribunal is three months from the date when employment terminates. 

Help and advice

For individual queries, please contact ATL's London office, e-mail the helpdesk, or contact your branch secretary. You may also wish to call the out-of-office-hours helpline.

If you need confidential support and advice, don't forget you can also call ATL's stress, crisis or legal helplines.