A fall in Tribunal claims - can the system now relax?

Given the recent press regarding Government proposals to reduce Tribunal claims it is perhaps surprising that there has been an 8% fall in claims to the Tribunal from last year.  However this fall should be taken in context - last year`s figures showed a 56% increase in claims and this year`s figures represent a 44% increase on the 2008-9 number.  The small reduction this year may reflect a slowly-improving economic climate.

In Buddy`s experience, the Tribunal system is still creaking under the strain of this large number of claims.  Some centres appear to be slowly and methodically processing claims resulting in significant delays in getting to a hearing whereas other centres have taken a robust approach and are issuing directions and listing hearings swiftly upon receipt of claims - perhaps in a bid to push parties into swift settlement discussions. 

Annual statistics provided by HM Courts and Tribunals Service for the period April 2010 to March 2011 show the following other points of note:

• Unfair dismissal and redundancy claims have fallen
• The number of single claims have fallen by 15%
• Appeals to the EAT have increased by 9%
• Age discrimination claims have soared with a 32% increase
• Claims under the Part-Time Worker Regulations have nearly tripled
• Median age discrimination awards are £12,697 whereas the figure for other discrimination strands sits at £5-£6,000.