What is an Industrial Court award?
Your case reached a hearing and you want to know what the decision is called.
An award is the Industrial Court’s final decision on a dismissal case, the outcome every earlier stage builds toward.
What does an award mean?
Once the court hears both sides, it issues a written award. It can find the dismissal was fair and dismiss your claim, or find it was unfair and order a remedy.
The remedy the law is built around is reinstatement to your old job. The court can order a payment instead where reinstatement is not practical.
Why does it matter to you?
If money is ordered, back wages run from your dismissal date to the last day of hearing. They are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for someone still on probation.1
That cap matters because a long, delayed case does not mean a bigger award once the ceiling is reached.
What can an award include?
An award can include reinstatement, back wages, or compensation in lieu of reinstatement when going back to the same job is no longer realistic.
What any award contains depends on the facts found at your hearing, so treat general figures as context, not a promise.
If your case has not reached this stage, you can still confirm your original filing was in time on the deadline calculator.
If you are considering a claim that could end in an award, an independent employment lawyer can review your facts and advise whether to act.
If you are considering a claim that could end in an Industrial Court award, an independent employment lawyer can look at your facts. They can advise whether it is worth pursuing.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
Is an award the same as winning automatically?
No. Filing a claim does not promise any outcome. The court examines the evidence from both sides, and an award reflects what it finds proven, which may differ from what either side expected.
Can an award be appealed?
An award can be challenged through a formal court review on limited legal grounds. It is not a second attempt at the same hearing, so get advice early if you are considering this.
Sources
- Back wages awarded by the Industrial Court are assessed from the date of dismissal to the last day of hearing, capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer under the Second Schedule of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. DNH, Monetary Remedies at the Industrial Court
Keep reading
If you are considering a claim that could end in an Industrial Court award, an independent employment lawyer can look at your facts. They can advise whether it is worth pursuing.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.