Employment Tribunals - Lack of staff impacts court delays

Urgent call for increase in Employment Tribunal Resource

I read a blog on Personnel Today this morning which resonated with me.  So much so that I wanted to echo its sentiments because as an employment lawyer it covered something that needs a spotlight shining on it before it is too late. The topic – funding for Employment Tribunals. 

Already, I hear a distant groan of discontent.  Hot on the heels of lawyers and barristers berating the abolition of legal aid and inadequate funding in the criminal and family sector and now, employment lawyers are jumping on the band wagon. I get this may not garner a lot of public sympathy at a time when the NHS is on its knees and the government is looking to draw its purse strings ever tighter, with many bracing themselves this week to hear of the Government’s proposed changes to the strained, and frankly unsustainable benefits system.

However, this is something the Government would be foolhardy to ignore.  Employment tribunals have for a long time, and certainly since the abolition of employment tribunal fees and Covid, been struggling to deliver justice in a timely manner.  Notwithstanding recent recruitment to the tribunal judiciary (and it is right to recognise marked improvement in some hearing centres), it can often take several months to receive as much as an acknowledgement of a claim, with listings for final hearing taking several months and in some cases years to be heard and claims being pulled from listing at the last-minute owing to lack of judicial resource.

It is reported that there are currently 467,000 single cases outstanding. And the forecast is not good. According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice, the number of open single tribunal cases increased from 33,000 to 43,000 in the final quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. Between October and December 2024, the employment tribunal received 11,000 single claim receipts and disposed of 9,600. There were 440 multiple cases received and 530 disposed of. The forthcoming changes to the Employment Rights Bill inevitably will result in a further spike in claims. 

For those still in employment, litigation is no longer a viable option.  The prolonged legal process is extremely stressful and serves to have a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of Claimants who are often unwell or disabled.  Delays, due to lack of resource:

 

• undermine confidence

• derail careers; and

• cause financial hardship

 

– something which the Tribunal system was fundamentally here to protect. Leading me to repeatedly ask, “Is the Tribunal system fit for purpose?”

 

The Employment Lawyers’ Association (ELA) wants the Government to stop treating employment tribunals as a ‘poor relation’ to other court cases. It is campaigning for increased funding to tribunals to address staff shortages on both the administrative and judicial side which will, in turn, ease delays. I agree. I am proud to be an Employment Lawyer.

Having worked as a predominantly Claimant lawyer for most of my legal career, I recognise that Employment Tribunals are an essential mechanism for otherwise powerless Claimants.  They are a fundamental stepping stone to justice and equality which the government would be foolhardy to ignore.  The Government has recognised the need for Employment Law reform with a view to bolstering workers’ rights.  However, it is meaningless without a properly resourced infrastructure to enforce it.  

Sadly ‘reform’ serves as little more than lip service for many.

 

Kate Lea, Head of Employment Department, Senior Associate Solicitor
Lawson West Solicitors, Leicester 

If you are affected by this article or wish to speak to Kate Lea on any employment law matter, please contact her on 0116 212 1000 or klea@lawson-west.co.uk or complete our confidential Contact Us enquiry form.

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