Employment Tribunal Awards are classed as a windfall?

[cj931]

I have seen here that Employment Tribunal Awards are classed as a windfall; is this legally the case when it is made up purely of lost wages and personal injury damages for discrimination? Also, if the IVA is in both names of a couple and only one receives the money/'windfall' how does this impact?

[Foggy]

If you were getting the wage that is now being "refunded" in the award it would have increased your disposable income and would have been drawn into the IVA in the first place. Compensation other than wages is treated at the discretion of the IP, there being no definitive description of windfall in law.

If both of you are "named" in an IVA this means you each have one (there are no "joint" IVAs) --- they are probably interlocking so as to be treated as "one" and so the compensation of one will be shared with the other (just as your incomes were amalgamted at the start of the arrangements.

[cj931]

Thank you Foggy. So if I am hearing you right, the element that is lost wages must be paid into the IVA, but it is possible that the elements for injury to feelings/personal injury/aggravated damages to be retained dependent on circumstances and IP discretion? In this case, there is no income for wages as a result of the discrimination, hence the personal injury element. The IVA was worked out when this was the case (no wages) only disability benefits so when you say it would be 'drawn in' is this still the case? The intention is to pay off the debt in full if at all possible, but as there is no hope of future employment the injury element would be a safeguard for rising costs in the future. In fact income has gone down since the IVA was worked out but the same payment has been made...
Does any of this change how it may be viewed? Many thanks.

[Foggy]

Income is income whether wages or benefits. In injury / accident compensation claims IP's tend to follow the way these are treated in bankruptcy (compensation for lost income is paid into the IVA and compensation for pain and suffering is allowed to be kept) ... but not always! I am simply further extending this treatment to the tribunal award. However, I could be wrong.

There would be a strong arguement to ask creditors to allow settlement in view of there being no income going forward, indeed, as income has dropped, your current payment should be looked at and, possibly, reduced.

But this is a matter that needs to be discussed with your own IP with the large element of discretion involved.

Hopefully one of our industry experts will comment further and, if need be, put me right.