advogroup.co.uk | tribunal claims surge
tribunal claims surging during lockdown The Ministry of Justice has published its quarterly update on employment tribunal statistics revealing an 18% increase in single claims during lockdown with organisations, more than ever before, needing help to avoid the cost of getting it wrong. Lawyers believe the number of cases will continue to increase over the next year as the impact of the coronavirus epidemic takes hold on UK businesses Experts are warning the rise is likely to continue if employers are not meticulous about redundancy processes, and are urging firms to avoid basic errors.
the number of single claims – where claims are made by an individual claimant – made between April and June this year was 10,318, an 18 per cent rise compared to the same three months of 2019, when this figure stood at 8,772.
It means the outstanding tribunal caseload has risen by 31% to a The Ministry of Justice said the rise record 37,000 cases, higher than was most likely due to the rise in the previous peak in Q2 2009/10. unemployment and changes to working conditions caused by This was accompanied by a Covid-19. drop in claims being disposed of where the court issues a summary The latest statistics from the judgment without a full hearing. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reveal These fell to 4,496, down 21%
compared to 5,695 the previous year. In its quarterly report on tribunal statistics, the MoJ attributed the increase in claims to rising levels of unemployment because of “the impact of Covid-19 on the economy”, and said this was “the highest level of single employment tribunal claims since 2012/13”. “This rise in employment receipts is likely to continue as the government’s job retention scheme comes to an end at the end of October,” the report said. continued on next page.
advocate autumn 2020 | advogroup.co.uk | 13
