Age discrimination legislation first came into force in 2006. Since then, the number of Employment Tribunal claims increased rapidly. In 2011, a fee became payable to submit an Employment Tribunal claim. This fee regime was abolished in 2017 after the Supreme Court declared it unlawful.
Employment Tribunal claims (2005/06-2019/20)
The large spike in 2015/16 is probably not indicative of a new trend. The reason for the large spike is because, in September 2015, 11,418 age discrimination cases were submitted. Almost all of these 11,418 cases probably relate to a large multiple claimant issue, because the average of the months both immediately before and after September 2015 is less than 100.
In 2016/17, employment tribunal fees were abolished making it free once again to bring a claim. All sorts of claim increased in this year, not just age discrimination claims.
Outcome of age discrimination claims (2013/14-2019/20)
The proportion of claims settling via ACAS fell after employment tribunal fees were abolished.
The two categories “withdrawn” and “dismissed upon withdrawal” may be able to be combined. Data for the latter category was only collected from 2013/14.
Highest compensation awards
The amounts shown in the adjacent chart are in pounds. Although compensation awards for age discrimination claims can be high, six figure sums are atypical.
Average compensation awards
Median awards for age discrimination have been higher since the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees, suggesting that those claims that have continued to be brought are stronger.