The Ministry of Justice has continued to publish Employment Tribunal statistics. The statistics for October 2017 to March 2018, show a continued and sustained increase in the number of Tribunal claims brought by individual Claimants (commonly known as ‘single ET claims’).

Key figures are that, as against the same period the previous year:-

…….between October and December 2017:

• single ET claims received increased by 90%
• single ET claims disposed of increased by 21%
• the backlog of single ET claims has increased by 66%

……between January and March 2018:

• single ET claims received increased by 118%
• single ET claims disposed of increased by 43%
• the backlog of single ET claims has increased by 89%

The marked increase in claims, is likely to be due to the abolition of Employment Tribunal fees in July 2017.

The knock-on effect on the Tribunal system has varied between regional Tribunals. However, our overall experience over the past few months, is that the Employment Tribunal system is struggling to cope with Tribunal claim numbers, which has led to delays in processing new claims received and to the listing of Tribunal hearings.

More information on the latest Tribunal statistics can be found here.

If you would like more information about how we can assist you in defending Employment Tribunal proceedings, then please contact Jonathan or Eugenie below.