ARTICLE
10 October 2018

Increase In Employment Tribunal Claims Following Abolition Of Tribunal Fees

WS
Wrigleys Solicitors

Contributor

Wrigleys is a specialist firm of solicitors that concentrates on:
  • Agriculture and rural property
  • Charities and the social economy
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Families
  • Injured
  • Pensions
  • Property
As one of the leading specialist practices outside London, we are recognised as experts in our specialist areas and give practical, common sense, and technically excellent advice to our clients with whom we form valued long-term relationships.
Employment tribunal quarterly statistics for the period April to June 2018 have been published by the Ministry of Justice.
United Kingdom Employment and HR

Employment tribunal quarterly statistics for the period April to June 2018 have been published by the Ministry of Justice. The number of single claims received by employment tribunals when compared to the same period in 2017, before tribunal fees were abolished, has increased by 165%. Outstanding caseload in the tribunals has also increased by 130% since April to June 2017.

Despite the abolition of fees, more claimants are now representing themselves in tribunal rather than being legally represented. 17% of claimants were unrepresented in the year 2017/2018 compared to 9% in 2016/2017.

Following the abolition of fees, the government launched a fee refund scheme for those who had paid tribunal fees. As at 30 June 2018, over £10.5 million has been refunded.

The statistics show that disability discrimination claims achieved on average the highest awards when compared with awards for other discrimination claims in 2017/2018. The highest disability discrimination award during the year was £242,000. The average disability discrimination claim for the year stands at £30,700. For unfair dismissal, the maximum award was £415,227 and the average award was £15,007.

A quarter of all employment tribunal claims disposed of in the period from April to June 2018 reached a conciliated settlement through Acas, 26% were withdrawn by the claimants, 18% were dismissed upon withdrawal, 9% were struck out (not at a hearing) and 7% were successful at hearing.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More