Referrals to Employment Appeals Tribunal soar 56%

RISING job losses were to blame for a 56% increase in the number of cases referred to the Employment Appeals Tribunal last year, a Government spokesperson said yesterday.

Redundancy claims shot up from 300 in 2000 to 612 last year, according to the tribunal’s annual report, which was released yesterday. Minimum Notice claims rose from 1749 to 3216.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said there was a direct link between the increase in claims and growing job losses.