What Is a Schedule of Loss
A schedule of loss sets out the financial compensation you are claiming and how each element is calculated. It is not filed with the ET1 -- it is usually ordered during case management, typically three to four weeks before the final hearing.
The schedule of loss matters because it defines the boundaries of what you can claim. If you fail to include a head of loss, you may not be able to recover it even if you win. An under-calculated schedule also limits your recovery and affects settlement negotiations.
The Basic Award
The basic award is calculated by a statutory formula. It depends on your age, length of continuous employment, and weekly gross pay (capped at £643). The multiplier is: half a week's pay per year when under 22, one week's pay per year between 22 and 40, and one and a half weeks' pay per year when 41 or over. Service is capped at 20 years and the maximum basic award is £19,290.
The basic award may be reduced if the tribunal finds you contributed to your dismissal or if you unreasonably refused an offer of reinstatement.
The Compensatory Award
The compensatory award compensates you for your actual financial loss. It is capped at the lower of one year's gross pay or £115,115 for unfair dismissal claims. This cap does not apply to discrimination or whistleblowing claims.
The main components are: past loss of earnings (from dismissal to the hearing, less any income earned elsewhere), future loss of earnings (how long to find equivalent employment), loss of statutory rights (around £500), and loss of pension contributions.
Mitigation
You have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to mitigate your loss by looking for alternative employment. The tribunal will assess whether you have complied. If not, the compensatory award will be reduced by what you could have earned.
Keep a detailed log of every job application: date applied, employer, role, outcome. This log may be requested by the respondent and scrutinised at the hearing.
ACAS Code Uplift
Where the employer has unreasonably failed to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, the tribunal can increase the compensatory award by up to 25 percent. Where you have unreasonably failed to comply, it can be reduced by up to 25 percent.
The most common basis for an uplift is failure to follow a fair disciplinary procedure -- not investigating properly, not holding a hearing, not giving a right of appeal.
Injury to Feelings for Discrimination
Where your claim includes discrimination, you can claim compensation for injury to feelings in addition to financial losses. There is no cap. The Vento bands provide the framework: lower band £1,100 to £11,200, middle band £11,200 to £33,700, and upper band £33,700 to £56,200.
Set out in your schedule which band you say applies and a brief explanation of why. The tribunal will make its own assessment but your figure gives a reference point for both the tribunal and any settlement negotiation.