UK: UK Employment Tribunal delays
The 49-week average wait time for an Employment Tribunal claim being brought to a hearing includes both single and multiple claims. The information for 2022 is not currently available. Recently released statistics show that Employment Tribunal wait times have increased significantly from 31 weeks back in 2008, and are nearly 3 months longer than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic (when the average wait time was 38 weeks in 2019).
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel
Employment Tribunal delays are bad news for claimants and respondents. Some claimants may feel under pressure to settle their claims rather than face a lengthy wait for their claim to be heard. Employers face the difficulty of defending claims relating to facts that are becoming a distant memory in witnesses’ recollections.
Steps are being taken to try and clear the backlog of claims and speed up the process, but in the meantime, employers can take their own steps to help safeguard their ability to successfully defend claims, such as taking statements from witnesses and identifying key documents early on. Employers may also wish to assess their prospects of success at an early stage and consider how best to manage the claim.
