Unfair dismissal remains most common complaint as backlog continues to grow

16 June 2026

Employment tribunal claims continued to rise in the first three months of 2026, the latest government figures have revealed.

There were 531,000 open claims at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025-26, covering January to March, up from 491,000 a year earlier, according to statistics published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

Active single claim cases reached 64,000 in the first quarter, an increase of 55 per cent year on year, alongside 467,000 multiple claims brought by groups of workers against the same employer.

The true cost of employment tribunals

Employment tribunal backlog soars by a quarter in a year – and is set to worsen, lawyers warn

Doubling Acas conciliation window will not solve employment tribunal backlog, lawyers warn

The employment tribunals service received 22,000 new claims in the quarter but disposed of just 11,000.

Employers face longer waits

Imogen Finnegan, senior consultant at Bellevue Law, said the figures showed claims continuing to outpace the tribunal’s ability to resolve them: “For employers, this means longer timelines, increased costs and prolonged uncertainty, while employees may face delays in resolving disputes.”

Legal bodies including the Employment Lawyers Association have called for radical reform as pressure grows, and the government’s Keep Britain Working review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, has backed fast-tracking alternative dispute...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiwgFBVV95cUxOVkF0enJNZ3VmVDVWcjNJc0Na...