The Ministry of Justice has published the employment tribunal quarterly statistics for the period from January to March 2018.
Compared against the same quarter last year, the number of single claims received, disposed of and the outstanding caseload all increased by 118%, 43% and 89% respectively.
During the first quarter of 2018, employment tribunals disposed of 10,343 claims, down 9% compared to the same period in 2017. This was driven by a 36% decrease in multiple claims disposals. 29% of claims disposed of were conciliated by Acas, 17% were withdrawn, 16% dismissed on withdrawal, 14% struck out and 10% were successful at hearing.
During this period 4,700 refund applications were received and 4,400 refund payments were made. Since the tribunal refund scheme was introduced, 9,472 applications for refunds have been made and 7,733 refund payments issued (amounting to £6.5 million).
Meanwhile, what's the latest on fees? A question was asked in Parliament at the beginning of June as to whether the Secretary of State for Justice plans to abolish employment tribunal fees. The response did not mention the abolition of fees but stated that a review is currently being conducted into how fees are charged in light of the decision in R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor, and concluded by stating that details on the proposed approach will be published in due course.
This article is taken from HR Law - July 2018.
