The employment tribunal system is under unprecedented strain. A backlog of more than half a million claims raises serious doubts about its ability to cope with the expected surge in cases under Labour’s proposed expansion of workers’ rights.
Latest court statistics for the second quarter of the year, covering July to September 2025, show that the number of active lawsuits – including single and multiple lawsuits – rose to 515,000 by the end of September. The number of open labor court proceedings alone rose to 52,000, an increase of 33 percent compared to the same period last year.
The figures underline the scale of the challenge ministers face in pushing forward the Employment Rights Act, which is intended to strengthen worker protections but would rely heavily on an already overburdened court system for enforcement.
Rob McKellar, legal services manager at staffing firm Peninsula, said the data suggested the system was under severe pressure.
“With the current backlog of over half a million claims and some regions listing cases for 2028, it is clear that the pressure on the tribunal system is higher than ever before,” he said.
Wrongful dismissal was the single largest category of new claims in the quarter, accounting for nearly a quarter of cases, with 4,766 cases filed. Disability discrimination claims accounted for 14.8 percent of the total, while unauthorized wage deductions accounted for 12.2 percent.
McKellar warned that the situation could get significantly worse if the Employment Rights Act comes into force in its current form.
“Government figures estimate that once the law comes into force, an additional six million people will have the right to make unfair dismissal claims as the waiting period drops from two years of service to just six months,” he said.
The law, which was watered down last month following pressure from business groups, remains stalled in the House of Lords. Colleagues continue to push for a cap on compensation payments in unfair dismissal cases, arguing that unlimited compensation would further clog up the court system.
In a joint statement, six major business groups warned that proposals to relax compensation limits risk “exacerbating challenges to the court system,” causing delays that have already left plaintiffs and employers waiting years for a resolution.
Despite ongoing concerns about some provisions of the bill, business groups said they now believe the law should be passed to provide certainty. Downing Street has said workers’ rights reforms are expected to come into force before Christmas.
The increasing arbitration backlog comes against a backdrop of slowing recruitment activity. Concerns about employment reform and general economic uncertainty weighed on pre-Budget hiring, resulting in fewer job advertisements in November for the second consecutive month. According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, vacancies have fallen 14.4 percent since October to 622,156.
For both employers and employees, the numbers highlight a growing risk that expanded rights could outpace the system designed to maintain them, meaning justice is delayed — and potentially denied — as lawsuits continue to pile up.
