Estimated Total Compensation
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Unfair Dismissal Compensation Estimator
Get an informed estimate of what your unfair dismissal claim could be worth. This tool calculates your basic award using the statutory formula, then estimates your compensatory award based on actual losses — including the Acas Code uplift. All figures use 2026–27 tribunal limits.
Estimate only. Tribunal outcomes depend on the specific facts of your case, your employer's evidence, and judicial discretion. This tool gives you a structured range — not legal advice. If you are considering a claim, speak to an employment solicitor or contact Acas.
📅 2026–27 rates — valid from 6 April 2026
Weekly pay cap: £751
Max basic award: £22,530
Max compensatory: £123,543
See all statutory rates →
Part A — Basic Award
Calculated like statutory redundancy pay — using your age, service and weekly pay.
Used to apply the correct age-band multiplier
Date you started with this employer
The date your employment actually ended
£
Gross pay before tax — capped at £751
Your weekly pay exceeds £751 — the cap will automatically apply to the basic award calculation.
Part B — Compensatory Award
Based on your actual financial losses. Be as accurate as you can — tribunals scrutinise these figures closely.
£
Used to calculate the 52-week gross pay cap
Weeks since dismissal without equivalent pay
Your realistic estimate — be honest; tribunals expect mitigation
£
If lower than before, the shortfall is part of the loss
How long until earnings recover to pre-dismissal level
Statutory or contractual notice not received
Part C — Adjustments
Applies to the compensatory award only, not the basic award
If you contributed to the dismissal — tribunals can reduce both awards
Chance you would have been dismissed anyway with a fair process
Compensation Breakdown
| Component | How calculated | Amount |
|---|
PAIRED GUIDE
Unfair Dismissal – Your Rights and Options
What counts as unfair dismissal, how to bring a claim, the Acas process you must follow, and the major law changes arriving in January 2027.
Read the Guide →How to Use This Estimator
Unfair dismissal compensation has two distinct parts that are calculated separately and then combined.
- Basic award (Part A) — calculated using the same year-by-year formula as statutory redundancy pay. Your age, years of service and weekly pay (capped at £751) determine this figure. It is not linked to your actual financial loss.
- Compensatory award (Part B) — based on actual financial loss caused by the dismissal: wages lost while unemployed, the shortfall if your new job pays less, and any notice pay owed. The combined total is capped at £123,543 or 52 weeks' gross pay, whichever is lower (until 31 December 2026).
- Adjustments (Part C) — the Acas uplift can increase the compensatory award by up to 25% if your employer breached the Code; contributory fault and a Polkey reduction can reduce it.
The Basic Award — Age-Band Multipliers
| Your age during that year of service | Multiplier | What you receive per year |
|---|---|---|
| Under 22 | ½× | Half a week's pay |
| 22 to 40 | 1× | One week's pay |
| 41 or over | 1½× | One and a half week's pay |
Only the most recent 20 complete years of service count. Weekly pay is capped at £751 (2026–27).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need 2 years' service to claim unfair dismissal?
Currently yes — you need 2 years' continuous service for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. This reduces to 6 months from 1 January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Some dismissals are automatically unfair and have no qualifying period at all — these include dismissals for whistleblowing, pregnancy or maternity, asserting a statutory right, trade union activities, or health and safety reasons.
What is the Acas early conciliation requirement?
Before submitting a claim to an employment tribunal, you must contact Acas and register for early conciliation. This is a legal requirement — you cannot skip it. Acas will try to help both sides reach a settlement. If that fails, Acas issues a certificate that you must include with your tribunal claim. Time spent in early conciliation pauses your 3-month time limit.
What is the Polkey reduction?
Named after the House of Lords case Polkey v AE Dayton Services [1987], a Polkey reduction applies when the tribunal finds that even if a fair procedure had been followed, there was some chance you would still have been dismissed. The compensatory award is reduced by the estimated percentage chance that a fair process would have led to the same outcome. If a tribunal considers dismissal was 60% likely even with a fair process, it reduces your compensatory award by 60%.
What is the compensatory award cap in 2026–27?
The compensatory award is capped at the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks' gross pay until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 removes both caps entirely. After that date, tribunals assess compensation based solely on your actual financial losses with no statutory ceiling — which significantly increases exposure for employers and potential recovery for employees with high salaries or long periods of financial loss.
What about discrimination claims?
If your dismissal involved discrimination — on grounds of age, sex, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity — you can bring a separate discrimination claim alongside unfair dismissal. Discrimination compensation has no statutory cap and can also include an award for injury to feelings (assessed in the Vento bands: £1,300–£62,900+ depending on severity). This tool does not estimate discrimination awards as these require specific legal assessment.
What is the 3-month time limit?
You must contact Acas to start early conciliation within 3 months minus 1 day of your dismissal date. This is a strict limit — missing it usually means losing the right to claim entirely. The period spent in early conciliation pauses the clock. The Employment Rights Act 2025 extends this to 6 months, but this change is not expected to take effect before October 2026 at the earliest — do not assume the extended limit applies yet.