Recession blamed as tribunal cases rise

The recession has been blamed for a huge increase in the number of employment tribunal cases.

In the financial year up to March, 236,100 workers had bought claims against their previous employers, up from 151,000 the year before and three times the number of cases brought in the 1990s.

The biggest rise has come in claims under European legislation with the number of cases involving the European Working Time Directive almost quadrupling. There were also more cases in which large numbers of staff took action against a single employer, with the collapse of Woolworths bringing multiple unfair dismissal claims, whilst the BA cabin crew dispute also led to several claims.

There have also been rises in the number of claims regarding discrimination on the grounds of race, disability, religion, sexual orientation and age. The biggest payout was £729,347 for a disability discrimination case.

Kevin Sadler, chief executive of the Tribunals Service admitted that there had been a growing workload for tribunals and said: “There is no doubt that economic conditions have contributed to an increase in the number of cases received.”

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