The latest employment tribunal and EAT statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They detail the type and volume of cases received, disposed of and outstanding for the period April 2018 to March 2019. This information is useful in assessing employment litigation trends and the impact of fees (introduced in July 2013, but outlawed in July 2017) and Acas early conciliation (introduced in May 2014).
The stats show that 121,111 employment tribunal claims were accepted in this period. This represents a 10% increase in the year on year figures.
Unfair Dismissal
Compensation was awarded in 660 cases. The level of compensation was broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £947,585
- Average – £13,704
- Median – £6,243
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Sex Discrimination
Compensation was awarded in 19 cases. The level of compensation was broken down as follows:
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- Highest award – £24,103
- Average award – £8,774
- Median award – was £6,498
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Race Discrimination
Compensation was awarded in 24 cases. The level of compensation was broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £33,660
- Average – £12,487
- Median – £7,882
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Disability Discrimination
Compensation was awarded in 56 cases. The level of compensation was broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £416,015
- Average – £28,371
- Median – £12,156
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Religion or Belief Discrimination
Compensation was awarded in 3 cases. The level of compensation was broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £12,000
- Average – £4,767
- Median – £1,500
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Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Compensation was awarded in no cases.
Age Discrimination
Compensation was awarded in 12 cases. The level of compensation was broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £172,070
- Average – £26,148
- Median – £12,365
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Costs
209 costs awards were made in total (as compared with 479 last year). Of those, 51 were made to the claimant and 158 to the respondent. These were broken down as follows:
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- Highest – £329,386 (up from £20,000 in 2017-18)
- Average – £6,729 (up from £4,707 last year)
- Median – £2,400 (down from £2,409 last year)
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EAT
The EAT figures show that 1,291 appeals were received in 2018–19 (up 30% on those received in 2017–18) of which only 21% reached a full hearing, with 50% being rejected with no reasonable prospect of success.
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. The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) annual survey of its members considered the current demands being placed on the tribunal system and revealed it is still struggling to cope despite two years having now elapsed since fees were scrapped. Case life-cycles are continuing to lengthen and for employers, that time is money. No surprise then that the MoJ is 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 blog further, please do not hesitate to contact one of our HR consultants. 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.