Employment tribunal backlog still growing, figures show

Nearly half a million claimants to employment tribunals across the UK are awaiting their first hearing, new figures show.

Data from HM Courts & Tribunals Service, analysed by legal expenses insurance provider ARAG, show that 475,004 claims were at that stage as at the end of 2022, while the backlog of single claims increased by 8% during the year.

ARAG notes that while the headline “caseload outstanding” figure was down from last year’s peak of 506,911 claims, this total includes multiple claims and can fluctuate when cases with many claimants are disposed of and received.

Its analysis of single claims, which it says offers a clearer picture of the backlog in the tribunal system, shows that the 44,758 single claims outstanding at the end of 2022 was the highest number on record, and almost double the total a decade ago.

According to other data released last week, the total open caseload, including single claims and multiple claim cases, had risen to 50,291 by the end of January 2023. 

Cases received have exceeded cases disposed of every year since 2014. The Government’s attempt to restrict the number by introducing a case fee was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Unison case.

Last month the Ministry of Justice published data showing that the average waiting time between receipt of an employment tribunal claim and the first hearing had risen from 30 weeks in 2011 to 49 weeks at the end of March 2021.

ARAG’s underwriting director David Haynes commented: “The situation is as intolerable for businesses at it is for the employees waiting for their cases to be heard. We’re still seeing cases wait a year to reach even a preliminary hearing, leaving both parties in limbo. Over such a long time, costs increase, recollections fade and satisfactory outcomes can be jeopardised.”