Trends in Settlement

The annual report from ACAS, the UK conciliatory body, has been published and it shows a number of trends which reflect the increase in Employment Tribunal claims generally: 

• The number of claims referred to ACAS in the last year increased by 13%, from 77,478 to 87,421. 

•  The most common claim is still unfair dismissal (pleaded in 46% of cases) followed by claims for unpaid wages (in 30% of cases).

•  There has also been a significant increase in the number of individuals claiming redundancy pay - an increase of 40% from 10,284 to 14,450.

•  On a more positive note for employers, the new pre-claim conciliation service - which encourages conciliation before a claim is issued - appears to be a success.  Almost 10,000 referrals were received for pre-claim conciliation, and Tribunal claims were avoided in approximately 70% of those.