You’re probably thinking to yourself: “How much will I win at Tribunal?”
Without knowing all the ins and outs of your case, we can’t possibly give an exact amount. To get a rough idea, please give us a call us on 0808 167 7288 and tell us all the details.
Meanwhile, you might like to look at the latest employment tribunal statistics as shared by HM Courts & Tribunal Service.
Disclaimer: The Employment Tribunal transitioned to a new database between March 2021 and May 2021. As a result, the year 2021/2022 is missing some data, so it’s not possible to make a direct comparison between that year and the year 2022/2023.
What’s a tribunal?
To answer this question with a precise definition, let’s quote the Government’s own website, with the bit that’s relevant to us highlighted in purple:
“Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies which decide disputes in particular areas of law. Appeals to tribunals are generally against a decision made by a government department or agency. The main exception to this is the employment tribunal where cases are on a party v party basis (specifically, employee versus employer).
There are tribunals in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland covering a wide range of areas affecting day-to-day life. His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) administers many of them although some are the responsibility of the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
So, employment tribunals are independent judicial bodies established to resolve disputes between employers and employees over employment rights.
We act for employees, to help them through the process if they have a dispute with their employer. You can turn to us from the earliest possible stage, when negotiating informally with your employer, when you go to Acas, and right up to the Tribunal if your case gets that far.
HM Courts & Tribunal Service publish data about activity in the Tribunals quarterly and annually. The most recent report is from September to December 2023. Here are the specifics…
Employment Tribunal caseload
In September to December 2023, the Employment Tribunal received 8,100 single claims and 16,000 multiple claims. There were also 630 lead multiple claims – this is where one or more cases take the ’lead’ for others to follow.
It’s common for claims to include multiple elements. For example, an employee might claim for unfair dismissal and discrimination at the same time.
That’s a lot of work, and the Tribunal managed to dispose of 7,100 single claim cases, 23,000 multiple claim cases and 450 lead multiple cases.
As you can tell, they’re making a bit of a dent in the backlog (5,820 less in total), however, that still leaves a lot of outstanding cases. At the end of December, they still need to deal with a total of 33,000 single cases, 431,000 multiple cases and 6,000 lead multiple cases.
Putting it into context
You might wonder how that data compares to previous years. You can see the pattern of receipts and disposals in the graphs below (Source: Government website):
Some key points to note:
- It turns out that the number of single claims being made is now back to the same level it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Single claim open caseload (at 33,000) has fallen from a peak of 44,000 since Q3 2020/21, although this is up 7% compared to the same period in 2022/23.
- Outstanding single claims peaked at 36,000 in 2009/10.
- In December 2021, there was a spike when 48,000 multiple claims were dismissed – the case was against British Airways and covered 71,000 jurisdictions.
- There’s a spike in disposals in November 2023 when a bulk case of multiple equal pay claims against Glasgow City Council were settled and withdrawn. More of these are expected follow in subsequent months.
But how much will I win at Tribunal?
Here are the maximum, average and median settlements granted by the Employment Tribunal in 2022/23:
- £1,767,869 was the maximum award, granted in a disability discrimination case. This was made up of a large amount to cover financial loss plus a smaller amount for injury to feelings. The claimant sadly died after the liability hearing but before the remedy hearing. The average award for disability discrimination cases is £45,535 (skewed by the case mentioned) with the median award £15,634.
- £995,128 was the most paid out in a sex discrimination case. The average awarded for sex discrimination is £37,607 and the median £11,177.
- £452,474 was the top amount paid for a race discrimination case. The average for race discrimination is £23,070 and the median £11,400.
- £184,200 was the most paid for an unfair dismissal case. There is a statutory cap for these claims except when it involves a dismissal due to whistleblowing or a health and safety issue, which presumably applied in this case. The average award for unfair dismissal cases is £11,914 with the median award £6,201.
- £92,039 was the maximum award for a religion and belief discrimination claim. The average was £19,332 and the median £9,239.
- £84,723 was the top amount granted for an age discrimination claim, with an average of £14,210 and median of £5,675.
- £82,168 was the biggest award granted for sexual orientation discrimination. The average was £31,623 and the median £26,247.
- £174,141 was the maximum awarded for costs, with the median at £3,700. Costs were only awarded in 195 cases that year. Of those, 150 cost awards were in favour of the respondent and 45 in favour of the claimant.
Note that the vast majority of cases are settled without going to the Tribunal. Some will have topped £1 million, and many will exceed the average and media figures quoted.
However, it’s important not to get too attracted by the maximum amounts quoted, as it’s unlikely your individual case will reach those heady heights (depending on the circumstances, of course).
It’s also important to understand a couple of mathematical terms:
- To find the median: Arrange the data points from smallest to largest. If the number of data points is odd, the median is the middle data point in the list. If the number of data points is even, the median is the average of the two middle data points in the list.
- To find the average: The average is the middle value of the numbers. It’s sometimes called the ‘mean’. If you need to find the average of a set of numbers, you add them all together and divide by the amount of numbers. You can do this with any set of numbers, no matter how far apart the values of the numbers are.
While we’re on the subject, the ‘mode’ is the number which occurs most frequently in a list.
With skewed data (where one or two points are exceptionally high or low), somewhere near the median is the most likely figure you can expect.
What this means to you
We’re experts in employment law and have helped thousands of employees win compensation when they’ve been mistreated at work.
As mentioned in the introduction, the best thing to do is give us a call on 0808 167 7288 to explain your story. We can then advise your chances of winning your case, and how much you might expect to be awarded.
Related reading
For more on this subject, you might like to read our related articles, which include:
- I’ve been unfairly dismissed. How much can I claim?
- How do I get a settlement agreement? (Especially the section headed ‘How much might I get in my settlement agreement?’)
- How do I get a compromise agreement?
- How can I pay for an employment law claim?
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