Employment tribunals | Claimants wait nine months for hearings

Due to the constraints of coronavirus, claimants at employment tribunals currently face a nine-month wait before their claims are heard in court, meaning employers and employees face a long period of uncertainty and disruption before finding out the outcome of a claim, according to the latest reports from law firm GQ|Littler.

The average wait time between an employment tribunal receiving a claim and when that claim is heard reached 284 days this year, up 20% on the 237 day wait time last year, with GQ|Littler stating that the increase in wait time is exacerbating problems for employers who face uncertainty for months over the outcome of a claim.

By March 31, 2020, the backlog of single claims at employment tribunals reached a total of 31,693 – up 19% from 26,664 on 31 March, 2019, and the highest level since 2010 whilst GQ|Littler said that the wait time between employment tribunals receiving a claim and that claim being heard has increased 44% over the last five years, up from 197 days in 2015/16.

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“Tribunals were already in trouble due to a lack of resources. The shock caused by coronavirus means we are now at tipping point,” said Raoul Parekh, Partner at GQ|Littler. “The lack of resources at tribunals and the huge backlog has resulted in some recent claims not being listed for a hearing until March 2022, 21 months away.”