The number of employment tribunal cases has risen dramatically, according to figures from the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, a provider of employment law services.

The EEF survey of employment tribunal cases handled in 2006 showed the number of employment tribunal cases handled for member companies rose by a quarter from 1,227 in 2005 to 1,545 last year.

It believes that the rise in the number cases in the last year may be largely due to employees becoming more familiar with the rules and that pre-application procedures not having the desired effect of cutting down claim numbers.

Peter Schofield, EEF director of employment & legal affairs, says: “These figures suggest that in spite of government efforts to reduce the number of tribunal claims, they are still running at too high a level. However our figures indicate that even when disputes go forward to a tribunal only a fraction are ever upheld meaning an awful lot of wasted time, effort and cost for both parties. There is now an urgent need to take forward the recommendations of the Gibbons Review to ensure disputes can be resolved before making it to the starting grid of the legal process.”  

The figures also show that disputes are still not being resolved before the legal process begins, despite the fact that very few proceed to a tribunal and, even fewer are eventually upheld.