The backlog of employment tribunal claims in the UK has risen sharply, with new figures from His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) showing a 26% increase over the past year.
As of the end of September, the Employment Tribunal Open Caseload reached 61,163, up from 48,465 in September 2024. This follows a rise of more than 20% in the previous year.
This growing backlog coincides with the House of Lords sending the Employment Rights Bill back to the Commons for further review. The Bill proposes to extend legal protection from unfair dismissal to the first day of employment, potentially allowing millions more employees to bring claims.
Legal expenses insurer ARAG has analysed the tribunal system and found that, while more cases are being resolved, the volume of new claims continues to exceed the system’s capacity. As a result, both workers and businesses are facing prolonged uncertainty, sometimes waiting years for disputes to be addressed.
Andy Talbot (pictured above), director of broker, ATE & marketing at ARAG, said, “A year ago, we warned that the government’s new Employment Rights Bill was incompatible with the failing employment tribunal system. The situation now is so much worse.”
Talbot said that while there is a moral argument for ensuring fairness in dismissals regardless of service length, meaningful reform is difficult when the tribunal system is under such strain.
The issue of delays is not limited to employment tribunals. Recent data revealed that insurance claims across the UK continue to face uneven delays, with significant regional disparities. While London has seen some improvement, other areas such as Hastings report average case durations nearing three years.
This “postcode lottery” in waiting times adds further unpredictability for both claimants and insurers, impacting the overall efficiency of the justice system. The average small claim in UK civil courts now takes 40.6 weeks to reach trial, with multi- and fast-track claims averaging 62 weeks – still longer than before the pandemic.
These extended timelines mean that claims remain unresolved for longer, resulting in higher legal costs and more capital tied up for insurers and businesses.
Talbot also noted that delays in the justice system can have a wider economic impact. He said smaller businesses may hesitate to hire or invest while employment disputes remain unresolved. He suggested it may be prudent to stagger or delay the introduction of the day-one right to claim unfair dismissal, as granting this right could be ineffective if workers face years-long waits to exercise it.
Persistent delays have also drawn concern from the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), which has warned that confidence in the justice system is being undermined. The ACSO has called for substantial improvements by the end of the current Parliament, underscoring the urgency for reform within the sector.
The HMCTS data also show that the number of ‘Employment Tribunal Disposals’ in the past 12 months was 35,271, marking an 11.75% increase from the previous year. However, receipts of new claims rose by almost 20%, with 48,400 cases received compared to 40,523 in the prior period.
The total caseload includes both single and multiple claims, meaning the actual number of employees awaiting hearings is in the hundreds of thousands.
