Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many women who were (a) dismissed, (b) made compulsorily redundant and (c) treated in a way that made them leave their job issued an employment tribunal claim in 2014-15; and what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of such claims.

The data provided in this PQ are taken from a live management information system and can change over time. They are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics. Data provided has been extracted specifically to answer this question and has not been cross referenced with case files.

22,562 women had claims accepted in the Employment Tribunals in 14/15. It is not possible to identify how many women within this number were made compulsory redundant, dismissed or were treated in a way that made them leave their job.

The Government is committed to encouraging people to resolve their disputes at the earliest point. Employment tribunals should be the last resort where earlier attempts to resolve workplace disputes have failed.

Early Conciliation was launched in April 2014 and places a requirement on anyone involved in a workplace dispute who is considering an Employment Tribunal claim to contact Acas first. This gives Acas the chance to encourage the parties to resolve their differences through conciliation without the need for an Employment Tribunal claim to be made.