The Tribunals Service has released new figures on UK employment tribunals. They show that from the year 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010, there were 236,100 Employment Tribunal claims lodged, up 56% on the previous year.

According to the service, this is "largely as a result of the rise in multiple claims - these rose by nearly 90% on 2008-09, but also partly as a result of the changing economic climate. There was an increase of 14% in single claims over the year."

The number of claims disposed of by the tribunal rose by 22% on last year, rising to 112,400.

Other notable statistics published included:

• The number of unfair dismissal, breach of contract and redundancy claims rose by 17%.
• Nearly three-fifths of the current outstanding caseload consisted of multiple employment tribunal cases waiting to be heard. There were 400,000 remaining outstanding claims.
• Only 65% of single accepted cases were begun within 26 weeks of being received by the tribunal. This is down from 74% in the preceding year.
• In the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the percentage of cases listed for a first hearing within 26 weeks of registration decreased only slightly, down from 89% to 87%.

In general, the figures indicate that the tribunal service has come under increased strain in recent months. It is hoped that this will ease slightly in the year to come as the UK tentatively emerges from recession.

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