SOARING numbers of employment tribunal claims are set to cost UK employers £2.6bn over the next three years through paying employee claims and funding defence, research from a North-East law firm has revealed.

The Dickinson Dees Employment Tribunal Trends Index shows that, if the current trend continues, employers will face about 370,000 more tribunal cases in the next three years (2011 to 2013) than they did in the previous three (2007 to 2009).

And with an estimated average cost of £7,000 for every tribunal held, Newcastle- based Dickinson Dees said recession-battered employers will spend about £2.6bn more in the coming three years than the previous three – an increase of 46 per cent.

James Wilders, an employment lawyer at Dickinson Dees, said new legislation such as the Equality Act and additional paternity leave regulations would see numbers increase.

“Since 1998, there has been an almost inexorable rise in the number of employment tribunals, with an average of 20,000 more new cases each year.

“This has been driven by numerous changes in employment law and regulations, combined with the increased damages available encouraging people, an increased awareness of workers’ rights and nowin- no-fee legal advisors to mount more cases.

“While many of the employment law changes originated from the European Union and this often gets the blame, the real problems come from the way they have been enacted in the UK, often with additional or ambiguous requirements added,” he said.

“Legislation created in the UK is also a big cause of the relentless increase in tribunals, and there is strong evidence that case numbers increase even faster in the years after new legislation is enacted.

“We expect the trend of rising tribunal numbers to continue upwards over the next few years, and it may well accelerate due to various new employment law changes expected over the next few years.”