Last month, the Ministry of Justice has released statistics from the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal, covering the period from 1st April 2011 to 31st March 2012. The interesting part about these statistics is the ability to use them as evidence for cross-examination of the Government’s policies due to be implemented over the next year.
Claims accepted
One of the more striking statistics is the 15% reduction in claims accepted this year. Much of this can be attributed to multiple claims, where many employees make a claim against a single employer. Many of these are the wage claims against the NHS trusts and the working hour claims against airlines, which can be demonstrated in the large decline in the number of claims made for unauthorised deductions of wages and under the Working Time Directive.
In terms of increase, only claims made for failure to consult and inform during redundancies and transfer of undertakings increased, at a rate of 8% and 36% respectively. This is perhaps more of a reflection of the current economic situation and business practices as opposed to Tribunal trends however.
The fees to be introduced next April will undoubtedly impact upon these numbers, but to what extent remains to be seen.
Disposal
Along with the reduction in the number of claims, there has also been a reduction of 10% in the number of claims disposed of. The breakdown of case outcomes are as follows:
33% settled through ACAS
27% were withdrawn
13% were struck out without a hearing
12% were successful at hearing
7% were unsuccessful at hearing
6% received a default judgement
2% were dismissed at a preliminary hearing
Perhaps worryingly, the figure for cases being struck out is higher than cases that are successful at hearing. This would suggest that the Employment Tribunal’s extreme caseload is starting to affect case outcome. The reasons for why cases were struck out and withdrawn would certainly make interesting reading, especially as a number of business professionals feel the system is awash with unmeritorious claims.
In terms of unfair dismissal, a key jurisdictional claim, 55% were unsuccessful, 45% successful. This statistic ought to be borne in mind by legal advisors.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal
A concerning statistic for legal advisors and the tribunal system as a whole is that nearly half (47%) of the cases disposed of were rejected for having no reasonable prospect of success. Another 13% were rejected for being out of time. There are thus two important issues when appealing to the EAT, first ensure that the appeal is submitted promptly, and second ensure that it refers to a point of law. This must be considered by both professional and lay representatives alike.
The full release can be downloaded from the Ministry of Justice’s website.