A Court of Appeal ruling could mean the days of massive county court
compensation pay-outs for cases of stress are numbered.
In the case of Eastwood v Magnox – concerning a claim for damages to
compensate for the stress arising from an unfair dismissal – the claim should
be decided by an employment tribunal rather than a county court.
An unfair dismissal case would put a ceiling of £52,700 on any damages an
employer would be liable to face, unlike the unlimited damages that could have
been awarded by a county court.
The ruling is now being considered by the House of Lords, but if upheld
employment lawyers predict it could significantly reduce the number of
unlimited stress payouts.
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