• a protective award (usually relevant if an employer fails to consult appropriate representatives before dismissing 20 or more employees as redundant) is a punitive award, not compensation for loss. It follows that any earnings during the "protected period" should not be offset against it.
  
• any earnings during the protected period cannot be used to diminish or offset the protective award and Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 s.190(4) should not be construed to mean the contrary (it deals with the position of employees who do not receive pay because they are absent from work during the protected period for example on long-term sick leave or long-term leave of absence and possibly where an employer is in financial difficulties).

For general relevant notes see Redundancy/consultation