From 1st February 2009 the maximum figure for a ‘Weeks Pay’ increased by 5% to £350.00 per week – a bigger increase than most employees are going to see this year. This is used to calculate the Basic Award for Unfair Dismissal and Redundancy Payments.

However, this isn’t the important number. That is 191,526, the number of new claims accepted by the Employment Tribunals in the year to the end of March 2008. This is an increase of 40% over the previous year.

The total included 40,941 Unfair Dismissal claims, 29,907 Sex Discrimination claims and 55,712 claims under the Working Time Directive. There were 80 awards over £60,000 for Unfair Dismissal, although the average award for that was just over £8,000 and the median £4,000. In contrast the average awards for Race, Sex or Disability Discrimination were in excess of £10,000 and the median awards between £5,200 and £8,300.

40% of cases ended with the employer paying something to the employee through a negotiated settlement or award. Only about 20% of cases went to a final hearing, but two thirds of those were won by the employee. This up from last year – perhaps because there was a 30% increase in employees being represented.

Winners don't usually get their costs – the Employment Tribunal only made awards of costs to Respondent Employers in 327 cases.

These figures don’t include the effect on employers of having to defend cases, even if they win them. The cost of disruption to the management of the business and legal costs can easily exceed the amount awarded by the Employment Tribunal. Good employment procedures and early advice are the best way to avoid claims being made, and successfully defending them if they are.