Small and medium-sized business owners have been warned that there may be a rise in employment tribunal claims after parliament passed a new Equality Bill.

There are fears that employment tribunals will hear up to 370,000 new claims within the next three years and cost employers £2.6bn, with each individual tribunal costing on average £7,000.

The Bill is expected to become law in October and brings together a number of equality laws to form a single act. Lawyers have welcomed the act and have said that it helps clarify a number of discrepancies witin the UK's employment laws.

However, new rules on equal pay - including publishing pay data by gender - could lead to an increase in the amount of claims brought to tribunals.

"If the Equality Bill isn't killed off by the general election then there will potentially be a big increase in equal pay cases over the next coupler of years. We expect the trend to continue," said James Wilders, employment partner at law firm Dickinson Dees.