Age discrimination claims rise
Age discrimination claims rise
Age discrimination claims are on the increase, new employment tribunal figures have revealed.
The Tribunals Service said 6,800 age claims were lodged in 2010-11, overtaking the number of cases involving race discrimination (5,000).
The number of age discrimination claims has risen sharply recently – there were 5,200 the previous year and 3,800 recorded in 2008/09.
The statistics to the end of March 2011 show that sex discrimination (18,300 cases) remains by far the most common tribunal claim.
Overall, the number of employment tribunals has dropped over the past 12 months to 218,100 cases – down 8%.
However, the figure still represents a 44% increase from 2008-09, coinciding with an increasing backlog of claims.
The Government is currently consulting on employment tribunal reforms, which include proposals to take witness statements ‘as read’ in hearings and for employment judges to hear some cases alone – both of which would help reduce the backlog.
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