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Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. Legislation and case law change. Always consult a qualified solicitor for your specific situation.

UK Law Reference
All sections of Employment Rights Act 1996
1996 c. 18, s.120

Section 120 — Basic award: minimum in certain cases.

Extent: E+W+S

This version in force from 2026-04-06

Snapshot: 2026-08-24

Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Amendments made after 2026-08-24 may not be reflected — always check the official text .

(1) The amount of the basic award (before any reduction under section 122) shall not be less than [F1 £9,157] where the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason)—

(a) in a redundancy case, for selecting the employee for dismissal, or

(b) otherwise, for the dismissal,

is one of those specified in section 100(1)(a) and (b), [F2 101A(d),] 102(1) or 103.

(1C) [F3 Where an employee is regarded as unfairly dismissed by virtue of section 104F (blacklists) (whether or not the dismissal is unfair or regarded as unfair for any other reason), the amount of the basic award of compensation (before any reduction is made under section 122) shall not be less than £5,000.]

Amendment notes

  1. F1 Sum in s. 120(1) substituted (6.4.2026) by The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/310), art. 1(2), Sch. (with art. 4)
  2. F2 Words in s. 120(1) substituted (1.10.1998) by S.I. 1998/1833, reg. 32(5)
  3. F3 S. 120(1C) inserted (2.3.2010) by The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/493), reg. 12(6)