According to Tribunals Service chief operating officer Jeanne Spinks, two special teams have been set up to process claims from NHS staff alone, and officials from the Tribunals Service have been working closely with the judiciary to fast-track equal pay cases.

Of the 132,577 cases brought to employment tribunals in 2006-07 (PDF format209KB), 60% were multiple claims (in which a number of claimants bring similar claims against the same employer) compared with 55% last year and just 36% in 2004-05.

Overall, the number of cases was up 15% on the previous year's figure of 115,039, but this included a 26% rise in multiple claims.

The statistics show that where there were just 8,229 equal pay claims in 2004-05, this had risen five-fold to a massive 44,013 claims by 2006-07, while sex discrimination claims nearly tripled from 11,726 to 28,153.

Overall, the figures confirm earlier data from Acas showing that the number of tribunal claims is running at historically high levels.

Although the new jurisdictions under discrimination law have yet to make a significant impact on the volume of employment tribunal work, they are beginning to be felt.

Of the 238,546 claims lodged with tribunals in 2006-07 (many cases involve more than one claim), 972 were for age discrimination, 648 for discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, and 470 for discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

The figures also reveal how few employment tribunal claims make it all the way through the system and end in a hearing and victory for either side.

Of the 176,434 claims disposed in the 12 months to April 2007,
54,271 (31%) were withdrawn;
42,805 (24%) were settled thanks to Acas conciliation;
37,817 (21%) were struck out without a hearing;
21,816 (12%) were successful at a tribunal;
2,942 (2%) were dismissed at a preliminary hearing;
11,022 (6%) were unsuccessful at a hearing; and
5,761 (3%) were dealt with by a default judgment.

Compensation awards also show wide variation. For unfair dismissal claims (see table below), awards ranged from less than £1,000 in around 14% of cases to more than £50,000 in the highest 2.5%. The highest recorded unfair dismissal award was for £25,470, but with a median (or midpoint in the range) of £3,800.

Median awards for other jurisdictions included £7,000 for race discrimination, £6,724 for sex discrimination, and £8,232 for disability discrimination.

Compensation awarded by tribunals for cases involving unfair dismissal