The latest figures on Employment Tribunal claims show a sharp rise in multiple cases, with a particular increase in disputes centred on working time and age discrimination.
In the period October to December 2020, whilst single claims increased by 25% compared with the same period in 2019, but there was an 82% rise in multiple cases. A total of 29,000 claims were received.
The Ministry of Justice said that the rise was the result of the increase in unemployment and altered working conditions brought on by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with legal experts adding that the sharp rise in multiple cases could be accounted for by the changes many employers had been making to terms and conditions or conducting large-scale redundancy exercises”.
The statistics also appear to show a significant increase in claims of age discrimination, suggesting that employers may be targeting older workers when selecting for redundancy and the claims are coming from younger workers who have been most affected by Covid-related redundancies or decisions on furlough.
