The publication of the Employment Tribunal annual statistics for the year ending 21 March 2012 has revealed some interesting compensation trends. The most eye-catching awards were made in relation to race discrimination with the average award coming in at £102,259. Although hefty on its own, it was dwarfed by the highest overall award for race discrimination which saw the maximum pay-out come in at a massive £4.5 million.
Delving into the figures a little deeper, other areas also generated some interesting numbers in relation to awards and costs. Here is a breakdown of the headline compensation figures:
Maximum Median Average
Unfair Dismissal 173,408 4,560 9,133
Race Discrimination 4,445,023 5,256 102,259
Sex Discrimination 89,700 6,746 9,940
Disability Discrimination 390,871 8,928 22,183
Religious Discrimination 59,522 4,267 16,725
Sexual Orientation Disc. 27,473 13,505 14,623
Age Discrimination 144,100 6,065 19,327
Clearly very high maximum awards have skewed the statistics in some cases, particularly in relation to race discrimination and disability discrimination claims.
Costs awards have also been a source of interest in these latest Ministry of Justice figures. The maximum cost award was £36,466, while the median was £5 and the average £1,292. However, it is the number of cost awards made and their distribution that is most interesting. In total 1,411 awards were made with 116 going to the claimant and 1,295 to the respondent. This represents a huge increase over 2010/11 when only 487 awards were made in total. However, of the 1,295 awards made to respondents, 800 £5 awards were made against claimants in a multiple case. Without this figure the median award rises to £1,730 and, taken as a single sum of £4,000, the average rises to £2,973. The total number of awards would also fall to 612.
Although the trend appears to be downward for the number of employment tribunal claims being accepted, the highest compensation awards and cost award appear to be doing the opposite. There are a number of factors on the horizon that are likely to maintain momentum on the former trend though. Changes made in April 2012 to the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will soon be implemented, increasing the time period to 24 months. This is likely to reduce the pool of potential claimants going forward. In addition, the possible introduction of tribunal fees could also add a further resistor to the flow of new claimants.
If you would like more information regarding employment tribunals or any other Employment matters, Rollingsons has experienced lawyers who can advise you. Please contact Aneil Balgobin via e-mail ABalgobin@rollingsons.co.uk or by telephone on 0207 611 4848.
