The Ministry of Justice has published a report showing provisional figures for claims issued from July to September 2013 which covers the period when the fee system was introduced into Employment Tribunals (ET).  They have also published their annual statistics up to March 2013 which reveal some interesting trends.

As anticipated the number of single claims lodged has dropped significantly since the fee system was introduced.

Also of interest is that the number of costs awards made, and the value of these awards, has risen, which is consistent with our experience of the Tribunal system over the last year.

There was also an increase in the number of unfair dismissal claims where the Claimant received over £50,000 in compensation, perhaps a sign of the recession and the difficulty in finding new work.

The full report can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

The key findings we noticed in the report are as follows:

  • There were around 40,000 new claims, despite the introduction of ET fees on 29 July 2013.
  • However, the number of receipts for single claims reached a peak of 7,307 in July, presumably as Claimants scrambled to get their claims lodged prior to the introduction of the fee system.  Historically there are only 4-5,000 claims issued in July.
  • Following the introduction of the fees system the number of single claims dropped to 3,645 in August and only 1,117 in September.
  • The trend for multiple claims (i.e. collective work disputes such as equal pay claims) has remained largely flat, as can be seen in the following graph produced in the Ministry of Justice report:

The Ministry of Justice has also published official annual statistics up to March 2013 within its official report for April to June 2013 which reveal:

  • The median award for unfair dismissal has increased to £4,832, however the median award for all discrimination claims (except religious discrimination) has decreased.
  • The amount of unfair dismissal claims awarded over £50,000 has increased from 49 to 105 cases this year.
  • The number of costs awards made in favour of a respondent has reached 522, up from 355 in 2011/12.
  • There were 48 cost awards in favour of a respondent of over £10,000 whereas in 2007/08 there were only 8.
  • 51% of claims brought in the Employment Appeals Tribunal by an employer were allowed, whereas only 44% of claims brought by an employee were allowed.

The next official statistics are due to be published in December 2013.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Employment team.