Employment Tribunal claims at a record high

Employers should take heed as the Tribunals Service annual statistics, published this week, reveal that Employment Tribunal claims are at a record high.

The key findings in relation to 2009/10 as compared to 2008/9 include -

• A 56% increase in the number of claims accepted by Employment Tribunals, to almost a quarter of a million, the highest ever figure.
• Perhaps unsurprisingly in the current economic climate, an increase of almost 20% in claims relating to redundancy, unfair dismissal and breach of contract.
• The types of discrimination claims which saw the greatest increases were those relating to religion or belief, sexual orientation and age. This suggests that employees are becoming increasingly aware of and willing to test their rights under these more recent legislative provisions, a trend which is likely to continue. Furthermore, the government estimates that the new concept of 'dual discrimination - combined characteristics' contained in the Equality Act will lead to an increase of 10% in discrimination claims.   
• The number of claims under the Working Time Directive, which covers, amongst other things, holiday entitlement and working hours, increased more than four fold. This suggests that employers under pressure to increase profitability are making more mistakes in this area.
• Backlogs are increasing as Employment Tribunals struggle to cope with the high volume of claims. The resulting delays often increase the legal costs and loss of management time for employers.

If you are an employer we can –

• identify areas where you may be at risk of claims and help you to address them
• support you with advice on day to day and major issues
• defend you against any employment related claims
• revise your employment documentation and procedures
• provide training to your staff 
• improve your health and safety compliance
• keep you informed on developments in the law and best practice
• draft compromise agreements for you to give employees and negotiate with their representatives.

If you are an employee we can –

• bring any employment related claims for you
• negotiate an exit from employment for you on favourable terms
• help you with any issues arising during your employment
• advise you on contractual documentation
• advise you on compromise agreements and negotiate improved terms.

For further information

Please call us on 020 7148 7850 or email info@levenesemployment.co.uk.

Alternatively please contact Victoria Willson directly on 020 7148 7852 or vwillson@levenesemployment.co.uk.

Disclaimer

Our news articles are written to highlight, in general summary form, some of the legal issues facing employers and employees in the UK. They are not intended to be, and do not constitute either legal advice or an authoritative statement on the law.