The number of employment tribunals involving individuals increased by 18 per cent between April and June 2020, the Government has revealed, despite Covid-19 causing record delays and court backlogs.
This number of employment tribunals increased by 18 per cent to 10,000 cases from March to May 2020, in comparison with the same period in 2019.
The Ministry of Justice states that the rise is most likely due to the alterations to working conditions during the pandemic, along with the increase in unemployment – which could be from the outcome of the launch of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), with inexperienced employers’ possibly not obliging to redundancy rules.
The research, which was published at the beginning of October, states that the Government believes this number will likely increase continually over the next 12 months.
Additionally, the average wait time between launching a legal claim and having the case heard by an employment tribunal is now 284 days, compared to 237 days in 2019, over the same period.
The number of individual claims waiting to be heard now (October) stands at 39,093, which is more than double the cases in March 2018. In March 2020, the number was 31,693.
With the local lockdown furlough scheme launching this November, immediately after the nationwide one closes, employers must seek professional advice before making any moves which could attract tribunal attention.
For help and advice on matters relating to employment tribunal claims, please get in touch with our expert team at Ardens Solicitors today.
