In Nicholas James v The Venture (Wrexham) Ltd, an Employment Tribunal awarded £17,154 in compensation to a children’s centre worker who was subjected to inappropriate remarks after requesting a reasonable adjustment due to his autism. Mr James had asked for background music to be turned off to help with his concentration. Instead, his manager referred to him as a “weirdo” and made dismissive comparisons to staff working while hungover.
The tribunal concluded that this amounted to discrimination arising from disability, harassment, and a failure to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. Mr James was awarded £15,000 for injury to feelings, which fairly reflects the emotional harm caused in this situation.
A Deep Injustice: Bereavement Awards Compared to Discrimination and Privacy Claims
While the tribunal made the right decision in this case, it highlights the stark injustice in how the law treats families who have lost loved ones. Under the bereavement award scheme in the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, parents who lose a child or spouses who lose a partner due to negligence are entitled to only £15,120.
That figure is the same as what was awarded in Mr James’s case for injury to feelings in an employment setting. Worse still, this is significantly less than the damages awarded to celebrities in the phone hacking scandals. Many individuals were given six-figure sums for having their voicemails accessed without consent. In those cases, there was no physical harm, no loss of life, and no catastrophic grief. Just the invasion of privacy.
To be clear, those awards were not unjustified. Emotional harm matters. But when grieving families receive less than someone whose private messages were unlawfully heard, serious questions must be asked about our society’s sense of justice.
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Bereavement is Devastating and Lifelong
The loss of a child or partner tears through every aspect of life. The grief is not short-term. It can lead to depression, loss of income, family breakdown, and long-term emotional trauma. To value that pain at a flat-rate figure that barely accounts for inflation is not just outdated. It is insulting.
Bereavement damages are meant to acknowledge the emotional impact of a death caused by someone else’s negligence. They are not about financial loss, but about recognising suffering. Yet the current law fails to do even that. In fact, many families are not even eligible for the award. Cohabiting partners, adult children, siblings, and others with close emotional ties are excluded altogether.
The Case for Reform of the Beareavement Award
Bereavement compensation must be reviewed urgently. Lawmakers should increase the award to reflect the reality of modern life and the scale of the pain involved. The award should also be flexible to reflect individual circumstances and relationships.
At the very least, the law should:
- Widen eligibility to include more family members and long-term partners
- Replace the fixed amount with an assessment based on the facts of the case
- Acknowledge that grief is profound and deserves meaningful recognition
Until this happens, families who suffer unimaginable loss will continue to feel dismissed and devalued. That cannot be acceptable in a just society. Please lend your support or if you have been affected by the death of a loved one due to the negligence of another please contact us.
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