What the Latest Employment Tribunal Figures Mean for Employers

On the 10^th September 2026, the Ministry of Justice published its most recent quarterly statistics for Employment Tribunal claims which were for April to June 2026. The statistics show that the Employment Tribunal received 14,000 single Employment Tribunal claims (claims brought by one individual) between April and June 2026; an increase of 28% on the same period in 2025. When compared to the number of cases that were resolved or concluded; this was only 6,100 single claims which is 6% fewer than the same period in 2025. At the end of June 2026, there were 70,000 single Employment Tribunal claims open on their system. This is up a massive 51% compared to the same period in 2025 and is the highest level of open claims since they started recording these statistics.

All these claims are brought under the existing rules which include a two year qualifying service period for unfair dismissal claims and notifying ACAS of the claim within three months less one day of the event you are complaining of. These rules are due to change imminently.

The rules are changing in relation to notification to ACAS of a claim. From 1 October, an employee will have six months less one day to notify ACAS of their claim and start Early Conciliation. This is giving employees longer to start their claim. We see a significant number of employees who have not felt able to bring a claim within three months of the event due to the treatment they have suffered; however, this change will enable them to have a few months to focus on themselves, prior to starting a claim. Naturally, this will lead to an increase in claims brought.

From 1 January 2027, an employee will only need six months qualifying service to be eligible to bring most claims, including unfair dismissal. This is a huge decrease from two years, down to six months. Again, we see a significant number of employees who have been treated unfairly when being dismissed but simply do not have the service requirement to pursue it. This change will undoubtedly lead to a significant number of additional claims.

Last year, the ACAS Early Conciliation period was extended to 12 weeks. Once an employee has their ACAS Early Conciliation Certificate, they then typically have one month to issue their claim. If an employee did everything at the last minute, that is 10 months between the act they are complaining of and them actually issuing a claim at the Employment Tribunal. 10 months. After that, you have to wait for the Tribunal to issue the claim. Depending on the Tribunal, that could take a week, it could take a month; there is no set time frame for them doing this.

A summary of the above is; the system is currently overstretched. The number of claims are already up on the same quarter last year and that is before all the changes are coming in which will only make this number increase further. If you have a claim brought against you, it is likely to take longer than ever to get to a final hearing and have an Employment Judge determine the claim.

As an employer, this means your employees are going to have rights sooner, there are higher chances of claims being brought and it will be much longer until you find out if a claim has been started against you.

How can you mitigate this risk? At Hopkins, we have a distinctive HR Retainer Service that we are very proud of. For a fixed annual fee, you can enjoy 12 months of HR support, which includes review of contracts and handbooks to ensure they are up to date, support with performance concerns, grievances, disciplinaries and more. We can help keep you ahead of the risks. Ultimately, no one can prevent an employee from bringing a claim; however, we can help take early steps to avoid a claim or ensure you have a solid defence, should one be presented.

If you would like to reach out to our expert Employment team to understand how we can best support you, click the Request a Callback button below or give us a call on 01623 468 468.