Last week the Ministry of Justice published its Quarterly Tribunal Statistics for the period April to June 2013. The report also included Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal statistics
Last week the Ministry of Justice published its Quarterly Tribunal Statistics for the period April to June 2013. The report also included Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal statistics for 2012/13.
The picture was mixed: the caseload for single claims (i.e. claims brought by a single Claimant) was reported to be down by 12%, whilst multiple claims (i.e. claims brought by a group of Claimants) were up by 13%. Overall, there was an increase of 10%.
The biggest increase was reported to be in respect of equal pay claims (up by 63%), followed by sex discrimination claims (up by 40%). Working Time Directive claims also made up 28% of the total number of claims, possibly due to the fall out of the Supreme Court decision in Williams v. British Airways regarding the calculation of holiday pay.
The reported period covered the increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from one year to two years (for employees employed after 6 April 2012). The statistics suggest a slight increase in the number of unfair dismissal claims during this period but it is perhaps too early to tell what impact the increase in qualifying period may have. The next quarter's figures are likely to be more telling.
The next quarter will also cover the period following the introduction of the Tribunal fee system. We expect to see an increase in claims during that quarter, as many Claimants sought to bring claims before the new fee system came into effect. The true impact of the new fee system on the number of claims brought in the Employment Tribunal is, therefore, only likely to be seen in subsequent quarterly reports.
The picture was mixed: the caseload for single claims (i.e. claims brought by a single Claimant) was reported to be down by 12%, whilst multiple claims (i.e. claims brought by a group of Claimants) were up by 13%. Overall, there was an increase of 10%.
The biggest increase was reported to be in respect of equal pay claims (up by 63%), followed by sex discrimination claims (up by 40%). Working Time Directive claims also made up 28% of the total number of claims, possibly due to the fall out of the Supreme Court decision in Williams v. British Airways regarding the calculation of holiday pay.
The reported period covered the increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from one year to two years (for employees employed after 6 April 2012). The statistics suggest a slight increase in the number of unfair dismissal claims during this period but it is perhaps too early to tell what impact the increase in qualifying period may have. The next quarter's figures are likely to be more telling.
The next quarter will also cover the period following the introduction of the Tribunal fee system. We expect to see an increase in claims during that quarter, as many Claimants sought to bring claims before the new fee system came into effect. The true impact of the new fee system on the number of claims brought in the Employment Tribunal is, therefore, only likely to be seen in subsequent quarterly reports.