There was a significant increase in the number of cases brought to employment tribunals in the UK last year, according to figures released yesterday.

The latest figures from the Tribunals Service, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, have revealed that the number of employment tribunals in the UK rose by 15% in 2006-2007 to 132,577, from 115,039 in 2005-06.

According to the Tribunals Service there has been a huge surge in the number of cases regarding equal pay, which rose from 17,268 in 2005-2006 to over 44,000 last year. The number of sex discrimination claims also doubled from around 14,000 to more than 28,000.

The figures also show that there have been 972 age discrimination cases following the introduction of new anti-ageism laws last October.

Jeanne Spinks, chief operating officer of the Tribunals Service, which administers employment tribunals, commented:

“The significant reason for the increase in employment tribunal cases in 2006-07 is a 155% increase in equal pay claims.”

However, Spinks added that, although the number of cases has increased overall, the Tribunals Service is working alongside the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) to make the dispute resolution procedure more streamlined and less time consuming.

She added: “Despite an overall increase in cases this year, we’ve also managed to reduce the waiting times for single cases appearing before employment tribunals.

“During 2006-07, the Tribunals Service also piloted an early dispute resolution scheme in a number of our employment tribunals and we’ve worked closely with the new Department of Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (formerly DTI) on their plans to revise employment dispute resolution procedures.”

Clive Lewis of Globis says “this is more evidence that demonstrates the business case for workplace mediation and investing in building relationships at work is sound”.