From tribunal claim numbers to tribunal awards, the latest employment tribunal statistics can be illuminating for businesses – highlighting some trends and matters to be particularly alert to.
So, what does your business need to know about the Latest Employment Tribunal Quarterly Statistics April – June 2023?
Employment Tribunal Quarterly Statistics (April - July 2023)
The latest statistics show that:
In April to June 2023, compared to the same period last year, single employment tribunal claims increased by 6%. Employment tribunals received 7,900 single claims.
For businesses, this highlights the need to remain vigilant and to seek specific advice. After all, no business wants to find themselves inadvertently falling foul of the law. Having the information you need to make the right decisions for your business is vital.
At the end of June 2023, the total number of cases outstanding was 471,000. The number of open single claims was 35,000, which continues to rise as new claims outstrip the tribunal system’s ability to dispose of existing ones.
It’s worth bearing in mind that the volume of employment tribunal claims and tribunals’ ability to deal them can mean that if your business receives a claim, it can take a substantial amount of time to reach a final tribunal hearing.
In 2022/23, 60% of claimants were represented by a lawyer with only 31% of claimants having no representation recorded.
Irrespective of whether a claimant has legal representation, every business will want to make sure that they put themselves in the strongest position possible if they are facing a tribunal claim.
Expert advice and support can help your business to navigate the complexities of employment law when you need it most. If your business receives an employment tribunal claim or is contacted by ACAS as part of early conciliation, make sure you get in touch for advice.
Tribunal Award Figures
The latest Employment Tribunal Statistics show that in 2022/23:
- Disability discrimination claims received the largest average award (£45,000) compared to other discrimination jurisdictions.
- The highest award in 2022/23 was for disability discrimination at £1,770,000.
- The number of claims that received compensation for unfair dismissal increased by 24% compared to the previous year. The average (mean) award for unfair dismissal in 2022/23 was £12,000, the highest award was £184,000.
Three steps to help protect your business
In our experience, common areas of vulnerability for businesses are often:
1. Unfamiliarity with procedural requirements and the expectations of employment tribunals when handling HR matters. This can sometimes lead to avoidable missteps.
To reduce the likelihood of this occurring, try carrying out a quick training audit of individuals in your business who have people management responsibilities.
This can help you to identify whether there are any specific training needs, for example in relation to discrimination and harassment or managing disciplinary and grievance issues.
If it’s been a while since training was received, consider whether refresher training may be required to make sure knowledge is kept up to date.
Empowering your people at all management levels to handle common HR issues appropriately can help you protect your business.
Discover professional HR training that works
2. ‘Patchy’ record keeping. This can adversely affect a business’s ability to evidence what has taken place in the event of a dispute with an employee.
Whilst it can be tempting to cut corners with record keeping when busy or under pressure, this can lead to problems later.
Take the step of checking the record-keeping practices across your business to make sure they are all as they should be.
Remember that if a matter reaches a tribunal, keeping records as evidence that you have acted correctly can make the difference between winning and losing a case.
3. Not having the policies and procedures in place that are required to help support the business.
Having clear rules in place about standards of conduct or policies, such as equal opportunities, anti-harassment and bullying can set clear expectations regarding performance standards and can help to reduce the likelihood of issues arising.
The needs of a business can change over time so it’s important to reflect on whether what you have in place continues to work for your business.
If you wish to make changes, for example, to introduce a new policy such as one regarding social media and the workplace, or you feel a change is needed to an existing policy get in touch for help and advice on the process to follow.
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