Since 2017 there is no fee for making a claim to an Employment Tribunal in the UK and claims have been increasing exponentially.
Awards have been made of over £240,000 for a discrimination case, and an unfair dismissal case can cost on average between £8,000 and £15,000 if successful.
Any employee who considers that they have been treated unfairly and unlawfully can make a claim and after reading the recent decisions made in 2019 there are recurring themes!
Lack of Employment Contracts was one major reason, however businesses and organisations not embedding and upholding legal values that should be defined in the company policies was another key driver.
Having suitable policies in place and your workforce understanding their duty to act in line with them is a MUST when it comes to avoiding employment litigation.
Sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, unfair pay or unlawful pay deductions and mistreatment under the Equality Act take up most of the cases, therefore having policies, procedures, standards and staff training in place is imperative.
We can offer reasonably priced policies and training guides outlining and defining,
- Pay and Deductions
- Code of Conduct
- Equality (Including harassment and bullying)
- Modern Slavery
- Staff Handbooks
All these for a fraction of the cost of a tribunal award.
Can you risk not having your paperwork in place?
The Real Cost of an Employment Tribunal
Employment tribunal volumes have risen sharply since 2024. The Ministry of Justice's Tribunal Statistics Quarterly show single-claim receipts running at multi-year highs.
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which introduced a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment from October 2024, has further raised the stakes.
Compensation in unfair dismissal cases is capped at the lower of one year's pay or the statutory maximum (£115,115 for the 2025/26 year).
Discrimination, whistleblowing and equal-pay claims are uncapped, and the largest awards routinely exceed £200,000 once injury to feelings and economic loss are added.
Where Tribunals Are Most Often Won and Lost
- Lack of contemporaneous notes, scoring and meeting records.
- No written policy in place at the time of the alleged conduct.
- ACAS Code of Practice not followed (uplift up to 25% of compensation).
- Inconsistent treatment between comparable employees.
- Failure to consider reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.
- Sexual harassment risk assessment absent (Worker Protection Act 2023 uplift up to 25%).
The Cost Beyond the Award
Tribunal claims typically cost the employer 12 to 24 months of management time, legal fees of £15,000 to £80,000 even where the employer wins, and significant reputational damage.
Insurance only covers part of the picture, and most employment-protection insurers require demonstrable adherence to policy and procedure as a condition of cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a tribunal order me to pay more than the cap?
Yes, in discrimination, whistleblowing, equal pay and certain other claims. The cap on unfair dismissal compensation is also lifted in cases of automatically unfair dismissal, including dismissal for whistleblowing or trade-union activity.
Does following the ACAS Code guarantee a win?
No, but failure to follow it can result in a 25% uplift on compensation. Most successful unfair dismissal defences rely on documented adherence to a procedure consistent with the Code.
What is the single most important defensive step?
Documented, current policies that match what actually happens day to day. A defence that relies on a policy the employer did not follow, or that contradicts the practice on the ground, almost always fails.
What Policy Pros Delivers
We write disciplinary, grievance, capability, dignity-at-work, equal-opportunities and whistleblowing policies that are tribunal-defensible and consistent with each other.
Our review service identifies inconsistencies between current practice and documented policy that are the most common source of preventable claims.
