An analysis suggests that the volume of cases could rise by 17 percent
UK’s new Employment Rights Act could add thousands of cases to the employment tribunal’s workload, according to an analysis conducted by the UK government.
As reported by the Law Society Gazette, the analysis forecasted that the volume of cases in arbitration and going before the tribunal could rise by 17 percent – representing 21,000 more early conciliation notifications to Acas, 6,900 additional employment tribunal cases, and 1,300 extra cases necessitating judicial time.
Over July-September 2025, single claim open caseload had increased year-on-year to 52,000 – a 33 percent uptick and significantly above a peak of 44,000 in 2020-2021’s third quarter. Meanwhile, single employment tribunal receipts rose by 33 percent as well and disposals dropped by 10 percent in the second quarter of 2025-2026 compared to the previous year.
House of Lords member Andrew Sharpe had cautioned in September that the Employment Rights Act “piles more pressure on to a system that is already creaking, creating delay and uncertainty for employers and employees alike,” per a statement published by the Gazette. A Federation of Small Businesses survey conducted in January 2025 also revealed that 92 percent of employers were concerned about the reforms.
Nonetheless, the government indicated that the data considered in the analysis could be influenced by a dispute resolution system taskforce being established by the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business and Trade to limit workplace disputes.
“The exact impact on the enforcement system is difficult to predict because the number of cases that enter the system each year fluctuates, and it will ultimately depend on behavioural factors like employers’ willingness and ability to comply with regulation, and employees’ willingness to bring forward a dispute,” the government wrote in the analysis, a snippet of which was published by the Gazette.
The Employment Rights Act secured royal assent in December.
