[UK] Employment tribunal backlog has risen 23% in one year

In the UK, the backlog of open cases at employment tribunals has continued to rise. It had reached 49,800 by the end of 2024, a 23 per cent increase on 39,000 cases that existed a year earlier, Personnel Today reports.

The quarterly statistics from HM Courts and Tribunals Service reveal a tribunal backlog with approximately 450,000 individuals, across single and multiple claims, now waiting for their cases to be resolved.

Speaking to Personnel Today, Philip Cameron - a partner at law firm Littler - reportedly said there is still a “severe shortage” of qualified employment tribunal judges, meaning claimants and employers are having to wait far too long to have their cases resolved.

The firm had previously warned that the introduction of a range of new workers’ rights in the Employment Rights Bill would lead to further increases to the employment tribunals’ already worrying backlog.

According to Ministry of Justice data, the average waiting time for a single claim of unfair dismissal or discrimination at the employment tribunal is about a year.

Mr Cameron said, “That’s just not fair on either party. Leaving businesses in legal limbo makes it harder for them to operate, that is a particularly acute problem for SMEs.

“The government needs to supply proper additional funding to help the tribunals cope with the current backlog and deal with the likely surge in disputes that is expected after the Employment Bill becomes law.”

The number of claims lodged with the courts in autumn 2024 reached 11,500, far above the 10,100 cases that were resolved in that quarter and a 30 per cent rise in claims lodged compared to the same quarter in 2023, when the tribunals received just 8,800 cases.

“Making unfair dismissal a ‘day-one’ right, even with probation periods permitted, is going to result in a big surge in claims,” Mr Cameron said. “On top of that is the possibility of disputes arising from companies making redundancies as they try to cope with the recent increase in the minimum wage and employers’ national insurance.”

Other factors that have driven up the number of cases over the longer term are the abolition of tribunal fees in 2017 and the struggle to reduce the backlog caused by the pandemic’s disruption to hearings.

Source: Personnel Today

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the UK, the backlog of open cases at employment tribunals has continued to rise. It had reached 49,800 by the end of 2024, a 23 per cent increase on 39,000 cases that existed a year earlier, Personnel Today reports.

The quarterly statistics from HM Courts and Tribunals Service reveal a tribunal backlog with approximately 450,000 individuals, across single and multiple claims, now waiting for their cases to be resolved.

Speaking to Personnel Today, Philip Cameron - a partner at law firm Littler - reportedly said there is still a “severe shortage” of qualified employment tribunal judges, meaning claimants and employers are having to wait far too long to have their cases resolved.

The firm had previously warned that the introduction of a range of new workers’ rights in the Employment Rights Bill would lead to further increases to the employment tribunals’ already worrying backlog.

According to Ministry of Justice data, the average waiting time for a single claim of unfair dismissal or discrimination at the employment tribunal is about a year.

Mr Cameron said, “That’s just not fair on either party. Leaving businesses in legal limbo makes it harder for them to operate, that is a particularly acute problem for SMEs.

“The government needs to supply proper additional funding to help the tribunals cope with the current backlog and deal with the likely surge in disputes that is expected after the Employment Bill becomes law.”

The number of claims lodged with the courts in autumn 2024 reached 11,500, far above the 10,100 cases that were resolved in that quarter and a 30 per cent rise in claims lodged compared to the same quarter in 2023, when the tribunals received just 8,800 cases.

“Making unfair dismissal a ‘day-one’ right, even with probation periods permitted, is going to result in a big surge in claims,” Mr Cameron said. “On top of that is the possibility of disputes arising from companies making redundancies as they try to cope with the recent increase in the minimum wage and employers’ national insurance.”

Other factors that have driven up the number of cases over the longer term are the abolition of tribunal fees in 2017 and the struggle to reduce the backlog caused by the pandemic’s disruption to hearings.

Source: Personnel Today

(Quotes via original reporting)