Most claims for wrongful dismissal unsuccessful Disappointing: About half of settlements are less than $4000. Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones More than three-quarters of arbitrated unfair dismissal claims ultimately fail, indicating employers are perhaps not doing it so tough under workplace laws. Fifty one per cent of all payouts are less than $4000 and 80 per cent are less than $8000, according to figures for the six months to January from the Fair Work Commission. The federal Coalition has come under fire from business for delaying big changes to workplace laws until 2016, following an inquiry into the Fair Work Act. Dismissal claims: The stats. The data shows the commission dismissed 76 per cent of cases (representing 283 people) in the six months to January. The biggest issue for business is feeling pressured to pay "go away money" during the conciliation process, Australian Industry Group director of national workplace relations, Stephen Smith, said. "It's all the settlement before it gets to that stage and the pressure that employers feel they are under because of the cost and disruption associated with pursuing these matters all the way through to arbitration," Mr Smith said. The figures show 81 per cent of cases are concluded through conciliation, rather than the tribunal, and about 61 per cent of those involve a monetary settlement. Only about 1 per cent of dismissed workers are reinstated. Director of workplace policy at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Daniel Mammone, said business wanted more emphasis on whether there was a valid reason for the dismissal, as employers were sometimes caught out by a "minor procedural defect in how it was carried out." He said a chamber survey issued last week found 70.4 per cent of employers were concerned about unfair dismissal claims. "Even if the claim settles in conciliation proceedings and no money is paid in settling the claim, it can still often involve a significant cost to employers to defend claims," Mr Mammone said. Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said most payouts were less than $10,000 and could include unpaid entitlements. He said there was no evidence employers were being punished for "minor procedural defects," rather than for the substance of how they had dismissed their workers. Executive director of the Council of Small Business Peter Strong said businesses were being treated more fairly by the commission.