The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published tribunal statistics for January to March 2014. The figures show that the significant reduction in the number of claims since the introduction of fees in July 2013 has continued. In October to December 2013 the figures showed a reduction of 63% in single claims compared to the same period in the previous year. In January to March 2014 there were 59% fewer claims than in the same period of 2013. Of the complaints disposed of by the employment tribunals in the period January to March 2014, 37% related to working time, 19% were for unfair dismissal, 10% were for equal pay and 8% were associated with discrimination.

The appeal against the High Court’s decision dismissing Unison's challenge to the introduction of fees in the employment tribunals and EAT is due to be heard by the Court of Appeal later this year. The High Court ruled that at the time of the challenge there was insufficient data to judge the impact of fees, but the figures so far have provided a very clear picture and assuming the trend continues, the data appears to give strong support to Unison’s case.

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