Unfair Dismissal, Discrimination & Whistleblowing Calculator: How Much Could Your Claims Be Worth?
Being dismissed in circumstances that feel wrong, or being treated so badly at work that you feel pushed towards the door, is unsettling.
Our calculator gives you a rough and ready indication as to the potential value of your claims based on the information you input:
- unfair dismissal award;
- discrimination award
- whistleblowing award
Use the calculator as a very rough guide only, your claims if you were to be successful could be worth more (or less) than the calculator indicates.
Why the calculator asks what it does
Unlike statutory redundancy pay, which follows a set formula, compensation for unfair dismissal, discrimination and whistleblowing are calculated based on several moving parts. The calculator opens with a short series of gateway questions to work out which route applies to you, because the applicable rules and the maximum amounts are very different.
The opening question: dismissal or being pushed out
The first question asks whether you were dismissed unfairly in the last three months, or whether your employer has recently treated you so badly that objectively the employment relationship feels broken (constructive dismissal - where your employer's conduct is so bad that it may entitle you to resign in response).
This question matters because of the current applicable three month time limit on bringing a claim for unfair dismissal. To bring an unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal, you have only three months less one day (go back a week to be safe) from the date of termination to start ACAS Early Conciliation. Miss it, and your claim is almost certainly lost.
Discrimination and whistleblowing claims
If you have been treated badly or less favourably, you may have a claim if that treatment is connected with:
- A protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation; or
- A protected disclosure which you made (whistleblowing), where you raised a concern in good faith about something that the business was doing, or was planning to do, that you reasonably believed amounted to breach of some sort of legal obligation. Importantly, the concern needs to be wider than you complaining about how just you were being mistreated.
Unfairness on its own is not enough for these claims; the law requires there to be a protected reason behind the mistreatment.
If you say yes: the unfair dismissal route
If you have been dismissed, the calculator checks whether you have at least two years' employment or continuous service with your employer. This is currently (April 2026) the qualifying period for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. If you have less than two years' service, the calculator routes you back to the discrimination and whistleblowing questions, because those claims do not require any minimum period of employment.
How the unfair dismissal award is calculated
If you qualify, the calculator works out two elements.
The basic award
This is calculated using the same formula as statutory redundancy pay, based on your age, full years of continuous service (capped at 20), and your gross weekly pay (capped at the statutory weekly maximum). This produces the basic award figure used in the calculation.
The compensatory award
This is intended to compensate you for your financial losses flowing from your dismissal: lost salary, pension contributions, contractual bonus, commission and benefits, between the date your employment ended and the date you are likely to secure a new role on broadly equivalent terms.
The compensatory award is capped at the lower of 52 weeks' gross pay or £123,543 (for dismissals on or after 6 April 2026). This cap figure is correct at April 2026.
The total unfair dismissal award produced by the calculator is the basic award plus the capped compensatory award.
Employment Claim Calculator
Answer a few questions to get a very rough estimate of what your employment claims could potentially be worth. This tool covers unfair dismissal, discrimination, and whistleblowing claims.
Your Estimated Claim Value
Breakdown
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Months Time Limit To Make A Claim
Average Tribunal Award
Maximum Compensatory Award
How the discrimination and whistleblowing award is calculated
This route produces an award made up of two parts.
Injury to feelings
This compensates you for the upset, distress and humiliation caused to you by the discrimination or detriment. The calculator gives you an indicative figure based on how long the mistreatment went on for:
- Less than 3 months: around £5,000
- 4 to 23 months: around £15,000
- 24 months or more: around £30,000
These tiers are a very rough guide only. For a one-off incident or comment, the lower end award can be as low as £1,000 and at the higher end, for a 2 years intensive campaign of discrimination the award can be up to £60,000. The Employment Tribunal will consider a wider range of factors when deciding where your award sits.
Financial loss
If you have also been dismissed, or forced to resign, because of the discrimination or whistleblowing detrimental treatment, the calculator adds your financial loss. It asks for your annual salary, divides it by twelve to give a monthly gross figure, and multiplies that by the number of months you realistically expect to be out of work. It then adds any other quantifiable financial losses you have suffered as a result of the discrimination or detrimental treatment, for example lost bonus, lost share awards or equity, or out of pocket costs.
Crucially, discrimination and whistleblowing awards are uncapped. There is no equivalent of the £123,543 unfair dismissal compensatory award ceiling. For senior earners, this is often where the real value of a claim sits.
Where both claims apply
If you have been unfairly dismissed and the dismissal or treatment was tainted by discrimination or whistleblowing, you can run both claims in parallel. In that scenario the calculator combines the basic award with the financial loss calculated under the discrimination route, so that you benefit from the uncapped framework rather than being held to the unfair dismissal ceiling. You cannot recover loss of income for the same period until both claims as that would be double recovery.
This is one of the most important strategic decisions in any case, and it is the area where good legal advice tends to add the most value. Identifying a discrimination or whistleblowing angle can transform what looks like a modest unfair dismissal claim into a much larger uncapped risk exposure for the employer, which materially changes the negotiating dynamic.
Tax treatment
The first £30,000 of compensation paid in connection with the termination of your employment can generally be paid tax-free. Whereas notice pay (PILON), holiday pay, accrued bonus and commission are usually taxed as ordinary income.
Common mistakes employees make
- Accepting an early lowball offer without taking advice
- Missing the three-month-less-one-day tribunal time limit
- Underestimating loss of bonus, pension, share options and benefits in the loss calculation
- Failing to identify a discrimination or whistleblowing angle that would uncap claim value
Not (safely) keeping evidence of the mistreatment, or of the steps taken to find new work - Resigning in haste, before taking advice on whether constructive dismissal is viable
- Assuming that just because the employer says the dismissal was for redundancy, performance or misconduct, it cannot also be challenged as amounting to unfair or discriminatory/whistleblowing related.
When to speak to David
It is worth getting advice if:
- You are being forced out or your gut sense is that is coming
- You have been dismissed and the reason or process feels wrong
- You are partway through a disciplinary, performance or capability process and can see where it is heading
- You have been offered a settlement agreement
You think discrimination or whistleblowing is really behind decisions being made about you - You are considering resigning in response to your employer's treatment of you
- You are within, or approaching, the three-month tribunal time limit
The earlier David is involved, the more options there are. Many of David's best outcomes are achieved before a dismissal is finalised, by reframing the conversation into a negotiated exit on materially better terms.
Case Studies - London Settlement Agreements
David regularly achieves fantastic outcomes for his settlement agreement clients:
Significant increases in ex-gratia payments
Confidentiality around settlement and background
Increase in payment in lieu of notice payment to include employer pension contributions and benefits
Negotiating positive leaving statements/references, reducing risk of reputation damage
Payment of bonuses – where bonus rules state no bonus due
Agreeing the removal/reduction of non-compete restrictions
Securing beneficial treatment of share options/LTIPs that would otherwise have been lost, including vesting on a pro-rata basis
Negotiating extension of medical cover to allow the employee to continue having essential medical treatment post termination of employment
Being dismissed from your job is hard enough without being unsure of your rights. If you don't know whether your dismissal was lawful, what compensation you might be entitled to or if something just seems off, David can help you find out where you stand and what to do next.
I was already happy with the settlement agreement terms I had been offered but only had limited time to accept. David provided a fast turnaround service which enabled me to get same day advice and sign off.
The Invaluable advice I got from David on my settlement agreement helped me feel in control. He negotiated me a far better deal than was offered to me originally.
David held my hand throughout a very messy exit and with his help I left with a large pay out under my settlement agreement to see me through to my next role.
David was great on tactics. He helped me prepare for my redundancy consultation meeting which resulted in me being offered a decent settlement agreement exit package.
Exit Guides for Employees
Employee Legal Guides
Useful employment law guides for employees from David Greenhalgh.