What An Award Means
Your case reached a hearing and you want to know what the decision is called.
An award is the word used for the Industrial Court’s final decision on a dismissal case, and it is the outcome every earlier stage has been building toward.
What It Means
Once the court hears both sides, it issues a written award. This 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, though the court can order a payment instead where reinstatement is not practical.
Why It Matters To You
If money is ordered, back wages are calculated from your dismissal date to the last day of hearing, but are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for someone still on probation.1
Knowing this cap matters because a long, delayed case does not automatically mean a bigger award once the ceiling is reached.
What Can An Award Actually Include
An award can include reinstatement, back wages, or a payment described as compensation in lieu of reinstatement when going back to the same job is no longer realistic.
What any individual award will contain depends heavily on the facts found at your hearing, so treat general figures as context rather than a promise.
If your case has not yet reached this stage, you can still confirm your original filing was made in time on the deadline calculator.
Once you know your hearing date or outcome, telling us where things stand helps us explain what an award could realistically mean for you.
Common questions
Is an award the same as winning automatically?
No filing guarantees an award in your favour. 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 process on limited legal grounds. It is not a simple second attempt at the same hearing, so speak to a lawyer 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
Once you know your hearing date or outcome, telling us where things stand helps us explain what an award could realistically mean for you.