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The number of individual employment tribunal claims has increased by nearly two-thirds since the abolition of the fees regime in July 2017.

The latest tribunal statistics (covering July to September 2017) show that since the same period in 2016, the number of claims lodged by single applicants have increased by 64% - the highest for four years.

While an increase in claims was predictable/inevitable following the Supreme Court’s decision to quash the fees regime, numbers haven’t yet rebounded to pre-fee levels. And it’s probably too early to make accurate predictions based on these latest statistics; the next set of figures from the Ministry of Justice will be key.

Another significant statistic is that tribunals’ outstanding caseload has risen by over a third since July 2017. With no increase in funding for the tribunal system planned, this is likely to lead to cases taking much longer to work their way through the system.

The Justice Secretary has indicated that the government is looking at reintroducing employment tribunal fees in some shape or form – but it’ll need to be careful to ensure that tribunals were still accessible and affordable. With Brexit taking up much Parliamentary time, it seems unlikely that any new scheme will be in place soon.