Research conducted by Bristol University and Strathclyde University, published in a report, Employment tribunal claims: debunking the myths, involved following more than 150 workers as they attempted to seek justice for work-related grievances between 2012 and 2014. The research was conducted against the background of recent reforms to the employment tribunal process which the report argues have been based upon a number of interrelated myths, centred on the notion that people are too quick to raise tribunal applications. The report sets out facts from the research to disprove four myths about claims: (i) people make ‘speculative’ tribunal claims flippantly; (ii) before fees employers bore all of the costs and none were imposed on claimants; (iii) people who submit claims expect huge pay-outs as part of a ‘compensation culture’; and (iv) a high proportion of claims are ‘weak and vexatious’. The authors propose a radical review of the employment tribunal system and set out 8 recommendations.

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