Roland Fairlamb is an Associate Solicitor at specialist employment law firm, Collingwood Legal. Roland considers the pressures already facing the Employment Tribunal ("ET") service and the impact that the Labour Government's Employment Rights Bill ("Bill") may have on the service and on businesses faced with defending ET claims.
Increase in “open” cases in the ET service
Recent quarterly statistics released by the Ministry of Justice for the period of January – March 2025 show that the number of claims brought by employees (or exemployees) of employer organisations in the ET are continuing to rise. Of particular concern, the receipt of claims is continuing to outpace the “disposal” of claims.
At the end of March 2025, there were 45,000 “open” single-claims (i.e. claims brought by one person) in the ET service. This is an increase of “live” single-claims of 32% compared to the same point in 2024.
The increase in open claims will be no surprise to users of the ET service, as significant delays in claims being heard and late postponements of hearings are commonplace. However, the current pressures on the ET service and on employers once the changes proposed in the Bill come into effect could further impact service levels and experiences.
The Bill’s proposals
With the backdrop of an ET service already creaking, the Bill signals a significant shift in the employment law landscape. Key proposals include the introduction of restrictions on the use of casual worker or “zero hour” contracts as well as new statutory limitations on the practice of “fire and re-hire”. The Bill also proposes to extend the time limits to bring a claim in the ET from three months (which is the case for most claims currently) to six months.
Arguably the most notable shift in the landscape that the Bill proposes is the removal of the requirement for an employee to have “qualifying service” of two continuous years in order to bring an “ordinary” unfair dismissal claim. In its place would be the introduction of “day one” employment rights and protection from unfair dismissal. This is particularly significant given unfair dismissal claims constituted the highest number of any “head of claim” received by the ET service over the 2024/2025 period, totalling 22% of claims received.
All of these changes stand to broaden the pool of employees who have employment protections with the potential of a further increase to claims being brought by employees through the ET.
What does this mean in practice?
We will have to wait and see where the finer details land following consultation of the proposed changes to the Bill (with the final changes likely to come into force in 2026 or later), but it is likely that the changes proposed will result in an increase in the number of claims brought in the ET.
Without further investment in the ET service, the practical impact of suggested changes in employment protections for employers is likely to be twofold: increased costs and further delays. Employers who have recently defended claims will likely be familiar with preliminary hearings being listed months in advance, postponements of hearings being announced on shortnotice and delays in receiving responses to correspondence with the ET. This is likely to persist (and potentially deteriorate) once the changes are implemented, resulting in further frustration for employers given the time, effort and investment required to defend a claim.
About us
Collingwood Legal is a specialist employment law firm. We are highly skilled and experienced in managing ET claims on behalf of employers including how best to navigate pressures on the ET system. Please therefore do not hesitate to get in touch if this article is of interest and relevance to your business.
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