The number of claims accepted by Employment Tribunals has dropped by 75% in three months, according to the latest quarterly statistics published today by the Tribunals Service.
From October 2013 – December 2013, 9,801 claims were received – 79% fewer than in the same period of 2012 and 75% fewer than the last quarter.
The introduction of fees to begin an Employment Tribunal claim applied from July 29th last year and it’s thought this has had a huge impact on the level of claims made by employees.
Philip Richardson, an employment law solicitor at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said the fall in claims is good news for business and strongly suggests that employees are clearly being deterred from bringing their claims.
Philip said: “The impact of tribunal fees introduced in July 2013 can be clearly seen in these figures. The issue and hearing fee, which total £1,200 for many of the most common claims such as unfair dismissal and discrimination, are deterring people from bringing claims. These figures are the first true indication of the impact on employees of having to pay Tribunal fees on the number of claims issued.”
There are further plans to encourage employees and employers to work out their differences away from the Employment Tribunal arena. From April 2014, before lodging a Tribunal claim, claimants will now be required to notify ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) first. This will give the parties the chance to engage in conciliation and an early conciliation offer can be made. If this is unsuccessful then the claimant can go on to lodge the Tribunal claim.
ENDS
Media information: Lianne Tracey
Stephensons Solicitors LLP
Tel: 01616 966 229
Email: lct@stephensons.co.uk