What I tried to do, Fishtank, was to demonstrate that the stats could be interpreted in several different ways, and that to just look at the figures without considering on which criteria they were based and how they were collated was a dangerous thing. I hope that anyone considering making a claim to an ET who sees them will be aware of the various interpretations possible.I totally agree with you but you have done exactly what you warn against which is put your own interpretation on the statistics.
Surely a claim can only be deemed successful if it is to the satisfaction of the employee and that is very difficult to judge...i know of one member on here who "won" his case but received no compensation at all nor his job back but still his case would be chalked up as a success.
My point throughout this has been that members should never see the Employment Tribunal system as anything other than a last resort,as you say for an ET to consider your case you must first exhaust the internal grievance procedure and that can mean that members are in a whole heap of trouble before they get to that point.
It's not a game and shouldn't be approached as such.
I am also in full agreement with you regarding the criteria on which success can be based.In my own case, even though I settled before the ET hearing, I was happy with the outcome and with the cessation of the treatment I had had to put up with until I submitted my claim to the ET. This is in stark contrast to the case you cite which, although classed statistically as a success, proved to be anything but to the claimant. Success, as you say, is only a success if the claimant considers the outcome to be a success to him personally.
As for your assertion that the Employment Tribunal should only be considered as a last resort, I am in full agreement with that , too. The whole process through which I went, from the unfair treatment, the grievance procedure and my dealings with the ET, all made me quite ill due to stress, but sometimes it is necessary to stand up to the people who think they can treat you in whichever way they feel like doing, and the loss of dignity that I would have suffered had I just allowed the situation to continue would have been much more deletrious to my health in the long run than the stress I was put under while going through this process.
Finally, I am sure that nobody who has been through the ET process would ever consider this to be a game but sometimes, in the absence of any response whatsoever to a grievance, there is no alternative if one is to be able to keep on working and to maintain one's sanity.