The broadcaster paid 31 settlement deals worth 1,469,861 in the 2024/25 financial year, The Sunday Express reported on 28 March.
Around 5m has been paid out in settlements over the past five years, and the average payout over the past financial year was almost 50,000, according to figures obtained through a freedom of information request by The Sunday Express.
We consulted legal commentators on the factors that employers should consider when deciding between settlement and tribunal action.
Speaking to HR magazine, Tamara Barbeary, associate solicitor at law firm Taylor Walton, said: “Employers settle claims for a variety of reasons, so it is important to look behind the headlines to extrapolate something more meaningful.
“For example, one feature of claims in the employment tribunal is that each party usually bears its own costs, win or lose.”
The decision to settle or go to a tribunal really comes down to risk, Garvey Hanchard, a partner at Bloomsbury Square Employment Law, told HR magazine.
Hanchard said: “Settlement isn’t an admission of fault; it’s just a commercial decision. The best approach is to balance the legal risk with what makes practical, commercial sense for the organisation.”
Barbeary said: “There may be legitimate reasons for an employer to proceed to a tribunal in defence of a claim; for example, to avoid opening the floodgates to other would-be claimants or defending a ‘matter of principle’.
“However, those principles can end up costing significantly...
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