The number of employment tribunal cases handled by the EEF, the
manufacturer’s organisation, increased by 3 per cent to 2,206 in 2003.
Claims for unfair dismissal made up 47.1 per cent of all the claims handled
by the EEF last year, followed by claims under the Wages Act (20.9 per cent),
for breach of contract (11.4 per cent) and for discrimination on the grounds of
disability (3.8 per cent), sex (3.7 per cent), and race (2.3 per cent).
Less than 20 per cent of the claims made got as far as a tribunal hearing,
and of those that did, 78 per cent went in favour of the employer.
The survey also shows that 27 per cent of claims were withdrawn by the
applicant for no financial or other return before reaching a hearing. Â www.irsemploymentreview.com