Information has recently emerged on the number of Employment Tribunal claims being lodged.
As usual there is good and bad news.
The good news is the number of claims accepted by employment tribunals has fallen by a fifth.
Employment tribunals accepted 151,000 claims in 2008-09, a decrease of 20% on the 2007-08 figure, latest figures by the Tribunals Service have shown.
Multiple claims accepted for 2008-09 fell by 13% on the previous year, but this figure excluded the number of airline employees who resubmitted claims for breaches of the Working Time Directive in 2007-08.
But the data revealed an increase in the number of single claims accepted, which rose to 63,000 in 2008-09 - a rise of 15% on the year before.
Unfair dismissal claims have overtaken equal pay as the most frequently lodged claim, and redundancy pay cases have rocketed. The number of unfair dismissal cases accepted between April 2008 and March 2009 rose by 29% to 52,711, up from 40,941 the previous year.
Redundancy pay claims shot up from 7,313 last year to 10,839 for the current year, while cases for redundancy - failure to inform and consult - more than doubled at 11,371.
Equal pay claims fell by more than a quarter to 45,748 for 2008-09 - down from 62,706 the previous year, and Working Time Directive cases plummeted to 23,976, compared to 55,712 the previous year.
Sex discrimination cases also dropped by 31%.
What does this data mean to the average business?
The news is preatty poor because it is in unfair dismissal and redundancy claims where the fundamental vulnerability of firms lie.
I am seeeing a surge in redundancy and unfair dismissal claims in my capacity as a lawyer.
You would think this represents an opportunity for ADR and mediation but think again.
The Gibbons Review which heralded a potential upsurge in mediation has turned out to be a damp squib.
There is little legal incentive to settle which is a pity.
Many employments lawyers are still doing their best to avoid settling claims, operating on an hourly rate they seem to seek to keep the cases away from settlement.
Part of the fear lies in the parlous state of many law firms who rely on streams of work such as conveyancing, increased Professional Indemnity Premuims and the threat of ever increasing regulation.
Between the lines, the lawyers need the costly litigation to survive.
Unethical yes, not very well known, yes, but ever present.
Justin Patten
Lawyer and Mediator