The Ministry of Justice has published the annual Employment Tribunals statistics for 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. These statistics elaborate on the more general statistics published in June, which provided an annual overview of 32 separate tribunals.
Although many of the headline figures, such as a 15 per cent fall in the number of claims received, were announced in June, the latest statistics also reveal that:
- the number of claims fell in most jurisdictions apart from slight rises in disability discrimination, religion and belief discrimination, and failure to inform and consult on redundancy;
- equal pay claims were least likely to reach a hearing - of the 23,800 equal pay claims, 81 per cent were withdrawn or reached conciliated settlements through ACAS, with just 67 receiving judgment;
- representation of claimants by both trade unions and lawyers continued to fall with a nearly 50 per cent drop on last year’s figures;
- in unfair dismissal claims, tribunals awarded compensation in just 21 per cent of cases upheld at a hearing, with a median award of £4,560.
- In only 2 per cent of these cases was the amount awarded over £50,000 (and so potentially subject to the current cap of £72,300);
- sexual orientation discrimination had the highest median award of £13,505;
And the median cost award was £5 but this was skewed by a case where 800 claimants were liable for a single cost award of £4,000. Once that award is removed the median cost award was £1,730.
Kate Fretten, Employment Partner, says "Get in touch if you need more information on this topic. You should find the other articles in October's employment newsletter of interest."
For a free initial meeting please call 01202 499255 and Kate or Paul will be happy to discuss any questions you may have.