Employment Tribunals are back in business

The Ministry of Justice quarterly statistics for the period January to March 2018 (viewed here) confirm the continued rise in new claims since Employment Tribunal fees were abandoned following the Supreme Court’s decision in R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] IRLR 911 nearly one year ago.

The report reveals that 9,252 single claims were received — up 118% on the same quarter in 2017.

Ross Strowger observed that “the latest statistics make clear that employers should up their efforts to manage the risk of an Employment Tribunal claim. No longer can they sensibly follow a “wait and see if they sue” approach to an employment dispute. The statistics are still well short of pre-2013 [introduction of fees] levels but it is clear that the slimmed down resources of the Employment Tribunal are having trouble coping with the increased demand from service users. The Judicial Appointment Commission is just about to launch a recruitment exercise for 54 new salaried judges.”