Employment tribunals feel weight of claims as hearing dates stretch to 2030

Employment tribunal hearing dates are being pushed as far as 2030, according to analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

The analysis reveals that more than 65,000 cases are currently open across the tribunal system. While tribunals are funded to sit for 34,591 days this year, marginally higher than the 33,787 days sat in 2024-25, that figure is still 1,000 fewer than the original allocation for that period.

Spencer West Employment Partner Fudia Smartt says the backlog has created profound uncertainty for both employers and employees, and that the consequences are already being felt in how disputes are handled.

“The backlog has created a great deal of uncertainty for both employers and employees as it is taking years for cases to reach a final hearing,” she said.

“As a consequence, many employers are being far more bullish in their approach when dealing with disgruntled employees, in the knowledge that it will take several years before a matter receives any judicial scrutiny. For example, I have a case where an employee was dismissed in 2024 and, due to delays, the case is unlikely to reach a final hearing until 2028. This is having a very negative effect on the administration of justice. This is particularly so, given that by the time a case reaches a hearing many key witnesses may have left an employer, memories have faded, and so on.”

The pressure on the system is expected to intensify further. Reforms under the Employment Rights Act – including a reduction in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from two years’ service to six months – could generate an additional 6,900 tribunal cases each year, according to government estimates.

Fudia warns that without significant intervention, the backlog will worsen, and that some of the Act’s intended benefits risk being undermined by the very delays it is likely to generate.

“Unless a major intervention occurs, the backlog will only get worse,” she said.

“I can envisage an increase of employees preferring to bring claims while remaining in employment – colloquially known as ‘suing while standing’. While a number of the Labour Government’s employment law changes have been brought in to increase employee rights, the delays in the employment tribunals will have a contrary effect. What benefit is there in having rights if you cannot enforce them in a timely manner?”

“The impact of all of the above is that the poorest employees will be the worst affected by the delays in the employment tribunals,” she said.

“Unless urgent steps are taken to address this, the employment tribunal process is on the verge of collapse.”

Read Fudia’s comments in People Management, Edward Fennell’s Legal Diary, and HR Review.