Disability-related tribunal cases have increased 133% over the past five years, making it the second most prevalent type of workplace discrimination, new research shows.
Through the analysis of Ministry of Justice (MOJ) data, health and safety training specialist DeltaNet International uncovered the top reasons people take their company to an employment tribunal.
It found sexual orientation discrimination cases to have increased by 165% over the past five years, followed by disability discrimination cases with 8,094 claims in 2019/2020 – up from 3,470 in 2015/2016. When looking at last year alone, there were more disability-related tribunal cases compared to any other type of workplace discrimination.
In a third of cases (33%), disability discrimination cases are resolved via mediation between the employer and employee. Compared to 2015/2016, fewer cases are also labelled as ‘unsuccessful at hearing’.
Darren Hockley, MD at DeltaNet International, said: “While I’d love to show you a chart which highlights how all types of workplace discrimination are on the decrease, the reality, however, is very different and disability discrimination is still a very real issue.
“Businesses should reflect on these statistics and ask themselves what they can do to drive these numbers down. It’s vital that our workplaces are diverse and inclusive to all, with clear processes in place to mitigate any type of discrimination from taking place and getting to the point where it needs third party involvement.”
When comparing 2019/2020 to 2015/2016, there has been a 25% increase in the total number of employment tribunal cases over the last five years.
The full data can be found here.