Overall employment tribunal figures fall but age claims increase

The overall number of employment cases being brought to tribunals has fallen by 8%, but the number of age related claims has continued to rise.

The latest figures from the Tribunals Service cover the period from 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011.

There were a total of 218,100 claims during that period, a fall of 8% on the previous year.

However, while it may be good to see the number of claims fall, it should be remembered that the latest figures are 44% higher than in 2008/09.

It suggests that the economic downturn is still having a major effect and is leading to what is still a very high number of claims.

The number of age discrimination claims has risen steadily over the last three years. There were 3,800 claims in 2008/09. That rose to 5,200 in 2009/10 and then increased to 6,800 last year.

Surveys regularly show that employers feel that employment tribunals are biased against them.

However, the figures don’t seem to bear this out. Only 12% of claims were successful at tribunal and as many as 32% were withdrawn during preliminary discussions and negotiations.

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