Employment tribunal award limits across Great Britain are rising by roughly 4.5% from Monday 6 April 2026. The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026 was made on 16 March and laid on 18 March, continuing the annual RPI-linked uplift set in law. On Market Pulse UK calculations using the Order’s 4.5% formula, the cap on a week’s pay used for statutory redundancy and unfair dismissal basic awards moves from £719 to £751, while the general compensatory award cap for ordinary unfair dismissal rises from £118,223 to about £123,543. The compensatory cap remains the lower of the statutory figure or 52 weeks’ gross pay. (legislation.gov.uk)

Timing now matters for HR and finance. The Order applies by reference to the ‘appropriate date’ in each claim type, so dismissals, failures to consult or other relevant events occurring before Sunday 5 April 2026 stay on the 2025 limits; events on or after Monday 6 April move to the new figures. For restructures straddling that weekend, the sequencing can shift statutory costs by hundreds of pounds per head. (legislation.gov.uk)

Several other indexed figures also step up. Daily statutory guarantee pay increases from £39 to £41. The new tips-related caps under sections 27M and 27O of the Employment Rights Act 1996 move from £5,135 to about £5,366. The minimum basic award for certain automatically unfair dismissals (for example, health and safety) rises from £8,763 to roughly £9,157, and the minimum compensation for exclusion or expulsion from a trade union moves from £13,384 to around £13,986. These are Market Pulse UK calculations based on the statutory 4.5% uplift; the 2025 baselines are set out in S.I. 2025/348. (legislation.gov.uk)

What this means in pounds and pence. Take a 45‑year‑old with 10 complete years’ service on £900 a week. Statutory redundancy is 1.5 weeks per year for those years (15 weeks). Pre‑uplift that’s 15 × £719; post‑uplift it’s 15 × £751-a £480 increase for one exit. At the top end, the maximum basic or statutory redundancy award reaches £22,530 (30 × £751), up from £21,570. For mid‑sized employers planning headcount changes, those deltas add up quickly once multiplied across a programme. (legislation.gov.uk)

Tribunal exposure also edges up where orders are ignored. The ‘additional award’ for failing to reinstate or re‑engage, which tracks 26–52 weeks’ pay, now tops out at roughly £39,052 (52 × £751), up from £37,388. Remedies that reference a week’s pay also lift in cash terms: two weeks’ pay for breaching the statutory right to be accompanied is now about £1,502, and four weeks for failing to provide written particulars about £3,004. These follow directly from the higher week’s‑pay cap. (legislation.gov.uk)

Context for 2026 planning. Separate to this Order, the Employment Rights Act 2025 doubles the maximum protective award for failures to collectively consult on redundancies from 90 to 180 days’ pay for breaches on or after 6 April 2026-a material change to downside risk if consultation is mishandled. Looking ahead, the Government has confirmed that the unfair dismissal compensatory cap will be abolished from 1 January 2027, meaning high‑earner dismissals will carry open‑ended exposure from that date. (blakemorgan.co.uk)

Scope check. This Order applies in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland sets its own limits via a separate instrument; draft papers there also reference a 4.5% RPI uplift for implementation on 6 April 2026, so cross‑UK employers should run GB and NI calculations separately. (niassembly.gov.uk)

What to do now. Refresh redundancy and settlement models with a £751 week’s‑pay cap and a circa £123,543 unfair dismissal cap; update HRIS and template letters quoting guarantee pay and ‘weeks‑pay’ remedies; and if a restructure spans late March to early April, reflect the step‑up in cashflow and document decision‑making carefully. For consultation-heavy exercises, train managers on the higher 180‑day protective award risk from April. (blakemorgan.co.uk)