The Employment Tribunal statistics that cover April 2011 to March 2012 were released earlier this year. This post will give a flavour of what those statistics show and how the Employment Tribunal has been faring in the statistics for the past twelve months. We’ll do so by examining:
- The overall picture
- Unfair dismissal claims
- Discrimination claims
- Breach of contract claims
- Representation at the Employment Tribunal
- Costs in the Employment Tribunal
The overall picture
The number of claims accepted at the Employment Tribunal fell again this year from 382,400 in 2010-11 to 321,800 (approximately a 16% drop). There were 59,200 claims made by “single” Claimants and 127,100 claims made by “multiple” Claimants, respectively a decrease in 2% and 19% on the same statistics in 2010-12. Overall, therefore, there can be seen to have been a relatively significant drop in both the total number of claims made and the number of Claimants who are making those claims.
Unfair dismissal claims
46,100 unfair dismissal claims were made in 2011-12. This is an (approx.) 3% decrease from the number of unfair dismissal claims submitted in 2010-11 and an (approx.) 19% decrease from 2009-10. Of these 46,100 claims in 2011-12 24% were withdrawn, 42% were ACAS-conciliated, 9% were struck out and 8% were successful at a hearing. The value of median compensation in a successful Employment Tribunal unfair dismissal claim fell from £4,591 in 2010-11 to £4,560 in 2011-12, an approx. 0.7% decrease. The maximum award of which the Employment Tribunal was aware was £173,408.
Read more: How to prepare your unfair dismissal claim
Discrimination claims
31,490 discrimination claims were made in 2011-12. The number of discrimination claims made in 2011-12 dropped by 26% since the 2010-11 statistics. Sex discrimination claims fell by 41% over the same period and age discrimination claims fell by 46%. Of these sex discrimination claims 33% were withdrawn, 30% were ACAS-conciliated and only 2% were successful at a liability hearing. The median value of an award for discrimination in 2011-12 was £6,746, an increase by 10% from 2010-11.
Breach of contract claims
32,100 breach of contract claims were made in 2011-12. This number fell by approx. 7% from 2010-11. Of these claims 20% were withdrawn, 32% were ACAS-conciliated, 16% were successful at a hearing and 14% were struck out.
Representation at the Employment Tribunal
72,600 claims were handled by lawyers in 2011-12, a significant drop from 142,700 in the same period in 2010-11.
Costs in the Employment Tribunal
Costs were awarded to the Respondent in 1,295 cases in the 2011-12 period. This in an increase of 73% from the same period in 2010-11. Equally, the value of the median award increased from £1,273 in 2010-11 to £1,730 in 2011-12. This suggests that the Employment Tribunal is becoming more hawkish on cost awards.
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