Navigating the Changing Employment Tribunal Landscape

We thought it might be of interest to our clients to have some insight into important developments regarding the employment tribunal landscape which have come out of the latest National Employment Tribunal User Group meeting held last month.

Overview

The volume of new claims being received by Employment Tribunals has reached post-pandemic highs, with more than 13,000 single claims being submitted during Q3 of 2025-26. Significantly, 61% of new single claims are classified as open track cases which means they are complex matters involving claims of discrimination and whistleblowing which is an increase of 20-25% compared to fifteen years ago. This increase is believed to be partly driven by AI-assisted drafting of claims which we are increasingly seeing more and more as employees use AI to draft grievances and other similar communications to employers.

Disability discrimination has emerged as the most litigated protected characteristic, accounting for roughly half of all discrimination claims. Waiting times in London and the South East are now measured in years, with five-day hearings in London South being scheduled as far ahead as early 2029 (we received a Notice of Hearing from Central London Tribunal last month listing a 4 day final hearing for early 2029). Most other regions however are currently still managing to accommodate hearings in 2026 or 2027.

Tribunals are experiencing a sustained rise in claim receipts, a shift toward more complex open track work, and AI-fueled inflation in pleadings. In addition to this, Acas, is on track to receive a record-breaking 150,000 Early Conciliation notifications in 2025-26, with an expected 15-20% increase due to the Government’s new Employment Rights Act 2025 and as a result of this, presently, it is taking five weeks to allocate a new case to a conciliator.

In Summary

Claims are increasing and tribunals are struggling to cope. AI is undoubtedly a factor in this as employees are increasingly using it to articulate their grievances and complaints in a more sophisticated and “legal” manner. This trend is likely to continue and worryingly cause a further significant increase in claims when the Government’s more significant changes to employment law take effect at the start of 2027 with the removal of the 2 years’ continuous service requirement and statutory cap on damages for unfair dismissal and the introduction of the new Fire & Rehire reforms. We will be providing updates on these changes and running webinars and seminars later in the year to help clients prepare.