Latest ACAS and Employment Tribunal Statistics Show Rise in Claims
The number of Early Conciliation notifications received has gone up by 53% on last year, whilst the number of single claims lodged with employment tribunals has increased by 165%.
ACAS Statistics
In order to submit most claims to an employment tribunal, since 6 May 2014, prospective claimants are required to partake in mandatory early conciliation with ACAS.
The recently published ACAS statistics are therefore a good indication of the number of possible claims being pursued as well as providing a measure of how successful early conciliation is in settling cases.
The ACAS statistics for the period from April to June 2018 show:
- ACAS received 33,171 EC notifications. This is an increase of 53% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2017.
- Of those 33,171 notifications, 1,180 were group claims covering 14,000 individuals. This means that the total number of individuals was around 46,000.
- Of the notifications made to ACAS:
- 3,755 (12%) reached a settlement.
- 20,208 (65%) did not progress to a tribunal claim.
- the remaining 7,086 (23%) progressed to an employment tribunal claim. However, so far, a further 10% were settled by ACAS early conciliators and 3% were withdrawn.
Employment Tribunal (ET) Statistics
The most recent quarterly statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that:
- In April to June 2018, single claims to employment tribunals rose by 165% compared to the same period in 2017. The publication attributes this rise to the abolition of ET fees on 26 July 2017.
- A total of 12,400 refund payments, with a value of over £10 million, were made by the ET refund scheme between October 2017 and 30 June 2018.
- Out of the 536 claims which received compensation for unfair dismissal for in 2017/18, the maximum award was £415,227 but the average award was £15,007. The highest award for a discrimination case was £242,130 and was awarded in a case concerning disability discrimination.
What Does This Mean for Employers?
Both the ACAS and Tribunal statistics show a rise in claims. Whilst it can be seen that a large percentage of claims which are notified to ACAS do not proceed to a tribunal claim (or a settlement agreement), employers should be aware that there is clearly an increased risk of litigation since the abolition of ET fees.