Employment Tribunal claims leap by 90%

Employment tribunal fees were abolished on 26 July 2017. The Ministry of Justice has recently published figures showing the very significant impact this has had on the number of claims now being brought in the employment tribunal which has continued to rise since fees were no longer payable. The latest figures show claims from individuals increased by 90%.

The Ministry of Justice issued provisional tribunal statistics on 8 March 2018 for the period October to December 2017. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the numbers show significant increases on the previous twelve months. While it was logical to expect an increase after fees were abolished, levels are not yet back to those seen before fees were introduced. Around 3,000 new claims are currently issued every month, prior to fees being introduced in July 2013, that figure was around 5,000 a month.

The employment tribunal refund scheme, set up to refund those who paid fees top bring their claim in the employment tribunal – which were later ruled by the Supreme Court to be unlawful, received 4,800 claims in the last quarter of 2017. This resulted in refunds of £2.76 million being paid out.

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