The annual reports for the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Court have been published for 2012, and they make some interesting reading.
Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT)
The EAT received 5,623 cases in 2012 and held 1,554 sittings in the same year, this is up from 1,509 sittings in 2011. Although the number received has decreased by over 2,800 from the 8,458 received in 2011.
Unfair dismissals account for over 30% of all complaints received, with Redundancy accounting for over 20% and Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment accounting for 17% making these the top 3 categories of cases and accounting for 70% of all claims received. Other notable mentions are the Organisation of Working time Act (7%) and Payment of Wages Act (14%).
The EAT in their report have also touted their efficiency in dealing with cases showing an increase of 172% in the number of cases disposed of when compared to 2007. When you compare the 2012 figure (7,624) to 2011 (6,723) you can see an increase of 13% in cases disposed of which demonstrated the EAT have tried to address the inefficiencies in their system and have cases heard much quicker.
The number of cases referred in relation to Redundancy continues to decline from the high of 3,000 seen in 2009. Last year 1,239 cases related to redundancy were referred with 1,024 being heard.
Unlike Redundancy, Unfair Dismissal cases have increased by 12% on 2011 with 1,791 cases being disposed of with 83% of which were being heard in the first instance.
Compensatory Awards
Almost €7 million in compensation was awarded (€6,981,979.49) in the 377 UD cases heard in 2012. Just 6 cases were awarded €0 in compensation whereas 96 cases were awarded €25,000 or more, this accounts for over 1 in 4 cases. In fact 223 out of 366 cases were awarded €10,000 or more, or 60% of all awards tend to be above this mark.
The average compensation awarded for Unfair Dismissal in 2012 was €18,519.84.
Legal Representation
The report also looks at representation in hearings and it paints a tough picture for employers as 1,917 employees had representation at a hearing, with 397 cases involving trade unions, 1,196 legal representatives, and 324 other persons. However only 1,116 employer parties had representation. In Unfair Dismissal cases 1,071 employees had representation as compared to 740 employers.
Labour Court
The labour Court also shows a large number of cases being heard in 2012 with 938 hearings from 1,181 referrals to the Court. However across the board in the Labour Court decreases can be seen in referrals made, hearings, determinations and cases settled prior to hearing as compared with 2011.
On a five-year trend the report demonstrates that referrals to the Labour Court have decreased overall, with the high point being 2010 where 1,433 cases were referred. This all feeds into the reform of the Tribunal System where first instance complaints will not be heard by the Labour Court and it will be seen as the Court of appeal.
Conclusion
Overall the figures show that there is still very much a litigation culture in existence, and with almost €7,000,000 in compensation being awarded, employers have every right to feel nervous. Employees are ever willing to lodge complaints and hire representation for a hearing, and employers need to ensure that they do not get caught unawares or ill prepared in a Tribunal. With €18,000 being the average EAT award, can you afford to become complacent?
