Employment Tribunal Statistics Highlights

The Tribunal Service has published a final version of its statistics for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. The 2008 / 2009 figures reveal an overall decrease in the number of claims submitted.

Despite this overall decrease the BWF reminds its members that they should always be alert to the need for proper consultation and adherence to procedure is essential when dealing with employment matters. Remember that expert advice and guidance is available to members on these and other employment issues either via the Members’ Helpline or through the guidance available on the website.
Claims submitted and accepted by employment tribunals
A total of 151,000 claims were lodged at the employment tribunal in 2008 / 2009 which is a decrease of 20% on the 2007 / 2008 figure of 189,300 but still an increase of 14% on the 2006 / 2007 figure of 132,600.

Despite an overall decrease in the number of claims submitted to the employment tribunal there has been a 29% increase in claims for unfair dismissal, a 31% increase in breach of contract claims and a 48% increase in redundancy claims.  In addition, claims for failure to inform and consult on collective redundancy increased by 150% on 2007 / 2008 figures. The increase in unfair dismissal and redundancy claims could be a reflection of the current economic climate and the rise in the number of people unemployed.

According to the statistics, a Claimant pursuing a claim for unfair dismissal has a 50% chance of succeeding at the hearing. However, Claimants have not been as successful in pursuing sex discrimination claims with almost twice as many Claimants failing (597 claims) compared with those that succeed (only 341) at tribunal.

Settlement and awards
There were no recorded figures giving details of settlement figures (because most settlements are subject to terms of confidentiality). However figures are available in respect of the awards made by the employment tribunal and recorded in the judgment.

The total number of claims disposed of this year was 92,000. A disposal is the closure of a claim when work has ceased to be done. This can be through a claim being withdrawn, settled, dismissed or decided at hearing. The number of disposals increased by 13% this year. A third of claims were withdrawn (33% 32% were settled with ACAS and 8% were unsuccessful at tribunal.

Despite the fact that over 50% of Claimants are successful in unfair dismissal claims in which compensation is capped (currently at a maximum of £66,200) the average award received amounts to £7,959 (median award £4,269). In claims when damages are not capped the average award was £32,115 (distorted by the fact that one Claimant was awarded £1,353,432.00) and the median average was £5,172. The median figure is not significantly higher than the comparable figure for unfair dismissal.

In the cases of claims involving sex discrimination the average award was £11,025 (median figure £7,000). Comparable figures for disability discrimination was an average award of £27,235 (median figure £7,226).

Costs
According to the information provided tribunals made cost orders in only 367 cases which is less than previous years. These figures show that 265 awards were made in favour of the Respondent and 102 in favour of Claimants.

Summary
In summary, the statistics show an overall decrease in the number of claims submitted to the employment tribunal. However, the number of unfair dismissal and redundancy claims has increased and according to the figures, the chances of the Claimant succeeding at tribunal are on average 50/50. The average award made to Claimants amounts to £4,269 (median) for capped claims and £5,172 (median) for uncapped claims.