Was it open to a tribunal to reduce a compensatory award by a percentage amount to take account of a failure to mitigate when there was a more precise method of calculation?
No, held the EAT in Hakim v The Scottish Trade Unions Congress.
The tribunal had found that the Claimant had not exerted himself sufficiently in search of new employment and decided to apply a reduction of 30% to the Claimant's loss of earnings.
The EAT held that this had not been a logical approach. If a percentage reduction is to be applied the tribunal should be in a position to justify the adoption of a crude approach, such as where it may lack evidence. In this case it had the evidence by which it could have fixed the date when the Claimant should have regained employment and calculated the differential wage loss.
Thanks to Tim Kenward of 7 Harrington Street Chambers for preparing this case summary.
Comments