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Claims to Employment Tribunal 


According to the ACAS annual report for 2021-2022, the statistics for cases going to full employment tribunal hearings vs settling pre-tribunal are:

  • Total claims accepted: 63,541 - This refers to the number of tribunal claims that were accepted by ACAS for conciliation or case management support. It does not include claims that were rejected or withdrawn before acceptance.
  • Claims settled through ACAS conciliation: 31,714 - Conciliation is the process where an ACAS conciliator works with both parties to try to negotiate a mutually agreeable settlement.
  • Claims settled directly between the parties (not through ACAS): ~ 10,000 - These are claims that the parties were able to negotiate a settlement on their own, without ACAS involvement. It shows many disputes get settled even without active conciliation.
  • Claims withdrawn by the claimant: ~ 5,600 - The claimant withdrew their claim before a tribunal hearing. Reasons for withdrawal may include resolving the dispute directly, lacking evidence or deciding not to pursue the case.
  • Claims proceeding to a full employment tribunal hearing: 16,227 - This is the portion of claims that could not be settled via conciliation or direct talks and went to a full tribunal hearing. Of the 16,227 claims that went to tribunal in 2021-2022, approximately 25-45% are likely to have been successfully upheld in favour of the claimant. The exact success rate can vary year-to-year, but claimant win rates at tribunal tend to range between 25-45% based on historical statistics.

The ACAS conciliation service itself facilitated the settlement of almost 50% of total claims lodged. This highlights the importance of conciliation in resolving employment disputes before they require full court proceedings.

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Type of Claims 


Looking at the 2021-2022 ACAS annual report, here is a summary of the employment tribunal claims breakdown:

  • Unfair dismissal - 32%
  • Discrimination - 22%
  • Wages Act Breaches - 13%
  • Redundancy Payments - 8%
  • Other Payments - 5%
  • Breach of contract - 4%
  • Working hours - 4%
  • Holiday pay - 3%
  • Notice pay - 2%
  • Other - 7%
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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - Or The Lack Thereof

Here is an overview of the discrimination-related claims, which made up around 22% of total claims according to the ACAS report:


The most common discrimination claim grounds tend to be:

  • Disability discrimination - ~ 30-40% Failure to make reasonable accommodations, discriminatory treatment, etc.
  • Sex discrimination - ~ 25-35%. Pay inequality, harassment, biased policies.
  • Race discrimination - ~ 15-25%. Racial bias in hiring, promotion, policies, etc.
  • Age discrimination - ~ 10-15%. Mandatory retirement policies, ageist remarks, etc.
  • Religious discrimination - ~5%. Bias against religious beliefs or practices.
  • LGBTQ+ discrimination - ~ 5%. Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

In terms of outcomes, discrimination claims have a moderate success rate at tribunal of 35-50% based on various studies. But it depends on having solid evidence of discriminatory treatment.