The Ministry of Justice has released the Employment Tribunal statistics for the first quarter of 2025 – January to March 2025. These figures provide a clear insight into the current levels of workplace disputes and it is clear that claims in the employment tribunal are on the rise.
There were 45000 open (live) single claims at the end of March 2025 up from 33000 at the same time last year.
Employment Tribunal claims have risen sharply compared to the same period in the previous year with unfair dismissal, discrimination, pay disputes and breach of contract making up the bulk of claims.
Looking ahead there is a real possibility that the number of claims will continue to rise.
Receipts of employment tribunal claims are exceeding disposals and the employment tribunal system is dealing with an ever-increasing number of claims. All signs point to a system that is under an unsustainable amount of pressure.
Worrying news for employers is that these numbers are only going to rise as a result of the new Employment Rights Bill which is set to bring in changes designed to make the employment tribunal process more employee-friendly.
Two key changes which may have the biggest impact on the number of claims employers may start to see are:
Under current law, employees need two years of continuous service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Under the proposed changes, which come in as part of the much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill, this protection would become a day one right. Such a change would lead to a sharp rise in claims as the right to claim unfair dismissal is widened to a much larger number of employees. In terms of timing, it is expected that this change will come into effect at some point in 2027. However, do keep watch on this aspect as following recent amendments by the House of lords, this could delay or dilute this proposal.
The Employment Rights Bill proposes extending the current three-month limitation period for most claims to six months. This would give individuals more time to exhaust other legal options, take legal advice and lodge their claims in the employment tribunal, which will empower a greater number of individuals to bring employment tribunal litigation.
The upward climb in the number of employment tribunal claims, and the potential for these to rise even further under the proposals in the Employment Rights Bill, serve as a timely reminder for employers to take steps to review their policies and procedures relating to their workforce, ensuring that account is taken of these changes and possible wider implications.
The breadth of rights proposed by the Employment Rights Bill, and the publicity it has received, will increase awareness of employment rights among workers and increase accessibility to the employment tribunal system.
Employment tribunal disputes and litigation can be complex and expensive as well as extremely stressful. It is important for employers to take early steps to review their processes and procedures and to take legal advice at an early stage in any dispute.
To book an appointment or to discuss this further, please contact Yasmin Awan at [email protected] at 01732 770660.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note the law may have changed since this article was published. We do not accept responsibility or liability for any actions taken based on the information in this article.
