Employment Tribunal claims at record high
Anecdotally, as a firm we are definitely supporting our clients with a significant increase in the number of Employment Tribunal claims being brought. The minutes from the October 2025 Employment Tribunal National User Group meeting now supports this with data:
Latest statistics show receipts of Tribunal claims at the highest post-pandemic. There were 52,000 outstanding single claims (contrasted with multiple claims) at October 2025.
Waiting times for hearings vary by region, with some listing into 2028–2029 (one of our clients has just had a 5 day hearing listed for 2028 at London South!).
Two large Judicial Appointments Commission exercises are underway: one for c 36 salaried judges (focused on London/South East) and one for c 150 non-legal members, both reporting in 2026.
Acas has seen a 26% increase in early conciliation requests (notably for discrimination claims), leading to about a five-week wait for allocation. As you will know, since December 2025 the early conciliation period has increased from 6 to 12 weeks.
The new Employment Rights Act 2025, which will introduce the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim after 6 months of continuous employment (rather than 2 years) and will likely allow 6 months (rather than the current 3 months) for that claim to be lodged, has the potential to increase the number of claims being brought, and the waiting times for those claims to be heard.
If you need pragmatic, cost-effective support with Employment Tribunal claims or early dispute resolution, please get in touch, please contact our team on 01342 347063 or hello@starfordlegalhr.com