Latest News About Employment Tribunal

Here are the latest developments I could verify about Employment Tribunals:

Direct answer

• There are growing delays and backlogs in Employment Tribunals across England and Wales, driven in part by a surge in new claims and a shortfall in available judges, particularly in London regions. Waiting times for a hearing have reportedly extended into years in some centres, with a notable rise in discrimination claims.

Key points from recent coverage

• Judge shortages: The Employment Tribunals Service has aimed to recruit more judges but has faced a shortfall, especially in Central London, South London, and East London, contributing to scheduling bottlenecks and longer wait times. This situation has been highlighted by practitioner groups monitoring ET operations. These observations come from sector commentary published in early 2026. [source coverage notes: legal practitioner blogs and industry updates]
• Case volumes and composition: New ET claims reached post-pandemic highs in 2025, with tens of thousands of cases awaiting hearing, and a significant share involving discrimination. This shift has implications for case complexity and duration. [source coverage notes: practitioner-focused analyses]
• Time to resolution: In certain regions, typical multi-day hearings that used to occur within months can now extend across several years, with London-based hearings especially affected. This worsened timeline is linked to both demand increases and resource constraints. [source coverage notes: sector updates]
• Acas early conciliation: Pre-claim conciliation notifications have reached record levels, illustrating sustained activity before tribunals, and the time from notification to allocation remains several weeks. This indicates ongoing demand upstream of ET hearings. [source coverage notes: industry summaries]

What this might mean for you

• If you are involved in or considering an ET claim, be prepared for potentially long lead times, particularly if your issue involves discrimination or if your hearing location is London. Early preparation, such as organizing documents, expert evidence, and potential alternatives (like Acas conciliation), can help manage timelines. [general implication drawn from coverage]

Would you like me to:

• Narrow this to your region (Lisbon is your location, but most ET news is UK-focused; I can look for comparable trends in other jurisdictions if relevant),
• Pull up more specific sources or quotes from 2026 updates to quantify current waiting times, or
• Summarize recent tribunal reports or guidance that might affect filing strategies or pre-hearing preparation?