Under express statutory provisions in each of the anti-discrimination ordinances of Hong Kong, a successful claimant may be awarded damages for “injury to feelings” in addition to other remedies. In this regard, Hong Kong follows the Vento scale established in the English case of Vento v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2002] EWCA Civ 1871, which sets out three bands of damages based on the seriousness of the discrimination.
In the recent UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) judgment of Eddie Stobart Limited v. Miss Caitlin Graham [2025] EAT 14, the EAT has provided a helpful summary of the factors and categories of evidence for determining the appropriate band of damages within the Vento scale, which is a useful guide to the practical application of that scale to the facts and circumstances of a particular case.
The claimant was employed by the respondent at one of its depots. A few months into the employment, the claimant became aware that she was pregnant.
Before the claimant went on her maternity leave, the respondent underwent a reorganisation and would cease certain functions in the depot the claimant was working at. A redundancy process began, and the claimant was unsuccessful in persuading the respondent to give preference to her to continue with her employment.
The claimant, while on maternity leave, submitted two grievances by emails to the relevant individuals of the respondent regarding the respondent’s failure to give her...
Campbell’s, a renowned canned soup brand, recently terminated a high-ranking executive following the emergence of a recording in which he made racially insensitive statements and alleged that the ...