Lost remuneration caused by the grievance, subject to statutory rules and the employee's mitigation evidence.
COMPENSATION & REMEDIES
Winning liability does not automatically prove what the case is worth.
Remedies should be tied to evidence. Lost wages, compensation, reinstatement and practical settlement terms address different consequences of the employment problem.
UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM
Liability and remedy are separate questions.
Proving an unjustified dismissal or disadvantage does not automatically produce a particular monetary result. Remedies depend on the loss caused, evidence of humiliation or injury to feelings, mitigation, employee contribution and the orders that are legally available on the facts.
Good remedy preparation begins early. Keep wage records, new employment income, job-search evidence and contemporaneous material showing the actual impact of the employer's conduct.
WHAT MATTERS
Common remedy issues
Compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings where supported by the evidence.
Reinstatement or other orders where available and realistically sought.
Reductions or removal of remedies where the employee's conduct contributed to the grievance, including the stronger contribution rules introduced in 2026.
THREE QUESTIONS FIRST
Get these straight before the argument gets bigger.
What income did you actually lose?
What evidence shows personal harm or humiliation?
What non-financial outcome would materially improve the result?
WHAT TO DO NOW
Build the remedy evidence while the case is fresh
Track income loss
Keep pre-dismissal payslips, final pay, new earnings, benefits and periods without work.
Keep job-search evidence
Save applications, interviews, recruiter contact and reasons opportunities did not proceed.
Record actual impact
Contemporaneous notes and appropriate supporting evidence can be more useful than reconstructed general statements months later.
Separate legal entitlement from negotiation
Settlement value reflects risk and compromise; it is not necessarily the same as the remedy a decision-maker would award.
WARNING SIGNS
Things worth looking at closely.
- Claiming a round number with no evidential basis
- Failing to mitigate wage loss
- Ignoring employee contribution
- Treating compensation and lost wages as the same thing
COMMON MISTAKES
Ways employees accidentally make the problem harder.
DON'T
Using a generic compensation number copied from another case without evidence of your own circumstances.
DON'T
Failing to look for work and then assuming all wage loss will automatically be recoverable.
DON'T
Mixing contractual entitlements such as holiday pay into compensation without separating them.
DON'T
Ignoring conduct that may lead to a statutory contribution reduction.
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
What a useful result can look like.
Reimbursement of lost remuneration where available
Compensation for qualifying personal harm
Reinstatement
Practical settlement terms such as references, corrections and agreed exit wording
FAQ
Compensation & remedies
How much compensation will I get?
There is no automatic fixed amount. Evidence, seriousness, causation and contribution all matter.
Can I claim lost wages?
Potentially, where the loss was caused by the grievance and is properly proved.
Can my own conduct reduce remedies?
Yes. Since the 2026 changes, employee contribution has stronger consequences: some remedies must be removed, wage reimbursement can be reduced, and serious misconduct can prevent any remedy being awarded.
Can I seek reinstatement?
Reinstatement is available in appropriate cases, although whether it is practical depends on the circumstances.
FROM PROBLEM TO OUTCOME
Most disputes move through the same basic sequence.
- 1Preserve
Documents, dates, evidence and the deadline.
- 2Raise
Put the actual grievance or response clearly.
- 3Resolve
Negotiate or mediate where a sensible resolution is available.
- 4Escalate
Use the ERA or Court where the dispute cannot be resolved.
COMPENSATION & REMEDIES
Want us to look at the actual facts?
Employee-side employment advocacy. No Win No Fee for suitable matters.