Employment Tribunal Quarterly Statistics and Annual Award Statistics for 2021/22

Summary

Overall, the figures show an increase in single claims and a decrease in multiple claims for the year. However, these are only partial statistics due to a new database transition in March to May 2022. Although not inclusive of jurisdictional breakdowns for disposals, timeliness and outcomes, the data does cover compensation and cost statistics for the employment tribunal.

Single and Multiple Claims

Some of the important statistics to note are that out of the 18,000 claims received, 7,800 were single claims (an increase of 6% compared to Q2 2021/2022), meaning 10,200 were multiple claims. That being so, single claim disposals decreased by 5% to 7,100 compared to Q2 2021/2022.

Overall, new claims dropped by 19% and disposals decreased by 6%, resulting in less claims in 2021-22 than the previous year.

Compensation (Unfair Dismissal)

In relation to compensation there were 630 claims that received it for unfair dismissal (up 51% compared to 2020/21) with a mean award of £13,541 (compared to a mean award of £12,080 in 2020/2021), this sector saw an increase despite the decrease of new claims by the end of September 2022. But for example, when looking at previous years like 2018/19 the highest award made was £947,585, much lower than this year’s sum of £165,000. This was despite the cap (now £93,878) as it was in relation to whistle blowing/certain health and safety automatically unfair dismissal claims (which have uncapped compensation).

Another point to note is that the median awards in unfair dismissal claims have remained static over the past 8 years being between £6,243 and £8,015. This year was not an exception; the median compensation was £7650.

What is the median in relation to compensation awards?

  • The median is the middle number in a sorted, ascending or descending list of numbers
  • It can be more descriptive of that data set than the average
  • It is the point above and below which half the data falls
  • Representative of the midpoint of the data.

Compensation (Discrimination)

On the topic of compensation there were 200 discrimination cases in which compensation was awarded. The maximum award for discrimination being £228,117 for a race discrimination case. This was followed by a compensation award of £225,893 in disability discrimination. Although, when looking at the largest mean award compared to other jurisdictions, sexual orientation discrimination claims were higher.  More specifically on discriminatory matters:  

  • Disability discrimination had 93 claims which resulted in an award of compensation, with a median award of £14,000.
  • Religious discrimination had 10 claims which resulted in compensation as an award. This had a median award of £25,968.
  • Sexual orientation had 6 claims which resulted in an award of compensation. This had a median award of £28,384. A significant increase over the past two years.
  • Age discrimination had 11 claims which resulted in an award of compensation. This had a median award of £12,480.

What to keep in mind in retrospect of these statistics

Statistics relate only to cases decided by the Employment Tribunal after a full hearing.

Most cases do not make it to a full hearing due to settlements at earlier stages.

Who came out on top – Employers or Employees?

Employers had 134 costs (awards for legal and other costs) awarded in their favour compared to just 50 on the side of claimants when looking at the 184 costs awarded by the Employment Tribunal in 2021/2022.

Author: Chloe Tinsley, Solicitor Apprentice, Employment