The introduction of employment tribunal fees has stopped many workers from bringing claims to a tribunal, the TUC has said.

Citing the new figures published by the Ministry of Justice, the TUC said that the 59% drop in the number of single claims being taken to employment tribunals – from 13,739 between January and March 2013 to 5,619 in the first three months of 2014 – showed that fees were deterring many workers from taking their employers to court.

The figures also show an 85% fall in the number of claims for unpaid wages – with just 3,133 claims made in the first three months of 2014, compared with the 21,213 cases lodged during the same period a year previously.

Over the same period, sex discrimination cases plummeted from 6,017 to 1,222 (an 80% fall) and unfair dismissal cases were down by 62% (from 11,041 to 4,235), says the TUC.

“Today’s figures show that many people – especially low-paid workers trying to claw back wages they are owed by their bosses – are being put off making a claim, often because the cost of going to a tribunal is more than the sum of their outstanding wages,” commented TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady.

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