The latest Employment Tribunal Solicitors and EAT statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They cover the period April 2021 to March 2022 and whilst they don’t include how many claims were made during this time (due to the Tribunal transitioning to a new database), they’re still useful in assessing employment litigation trends.
The full report is available here (ref: Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal Tables 2021 to 2022), but the headlines are as follows:
Unfair Dismissal
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- Highest – £165,000
- Average – £13,541
- Median – £7,650
Sex Discrimination
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- Highest award – £184,961
- Average award – £24,630
- Median award – £17,959
Race Discrimination
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- Highest – £228,117
- Average – £27,607
- Median – £14,120
Disability Discrimination
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- Highest – £225,893
- Average – £26,172
- Median – £14,000
Religion or Belief Discrimination
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- Highest – £35,000
- Average – £19,709
- Median – £25,968
Sexual Orientation Discrimination
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- Highest – £88,362
- Average – £32,680
- Median – £28,384
Age Discrimination
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- Highest – £60,914
- Average – £18,623
- Median – £12,480
Costs
184 costs awards were made in total. Of those, 50 were made to the claimant and 134 to the respondent. These were broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £600,673
- Average – £8,818
- Median – £2,500
Chris Nagel, Director / Head of HR at EML, comments:
“By 2013, the tribunal service was buckling under the volume of claims it was handling and employers had long been frustrated by the time and money they had to throw at an increasing number of frivolous and vexatious cases. As such, the introduction of fees and compulsory Early Conciliation were positively received by businesses. The effectiveness of these measures in reducing claim levels far exceeded expectations and many employers acknowledged (mainly off-the-record!) that the level of fees was proving prohibitive to individuals who might have legitimate claims. Unions formalised this objection and the courts eventually agreed, resulting in the abolition of the fee regime in 2017. Various reports and surveys undertaken since have revealed that the tribunal system is still struggling to cope despite the years that have passed since fees were scrapped. Case lifecycles are continuing to lengthen and for employers, that time is money. No surprise then that the MoJ is still deliberating the reintroduction of fees at a level which will sufficiently address the “barrier to justice” argument.”
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article further, please do not hesitate to contact one of our HR consultants on 01942 727200. We supply not just commercially minded employment law advice and bespoke HR services, but a comprehensive employment tribunal representation service to our clients. Our experienced HR support consultants have defended thousands of claims over the years and will handle any claims you receive, ranging from straightforward unfair dismissals to complex discrimination cases.