MoJ figures show a 55% rise in the employment tribunal backlog, with claims entering the system faster than they are resolved
The number of unresolved single employment tribunal claims rose sharply during 2025/26 as new cases continued to outpace the tribunal’s ability to conclude them. Ministry of Justice figures show that 64,000 single claims remained open at the end of March 2026, a 55% increase on the previous year.
The tribunal received 50,000 single claims during the financial year, up 39% on 2024/25. Over the same period, disposals fell by 12% to 26,000, leaving almost twice as many claims entering the system as being resolved.
Pressure increased further in the final quarter of the year. Between January and March 2026, the tribunal received 15,000 single claims, 50% more than in the equivalent quarter in 2025.
Single claims accounted for 67% of the 22,000 employment tribunal claims received during the quarter. The remaining 7,200 were multiple claims grouped within 440 lead cases.
The tribunal disposed of 11,000 single and multiple claims between January and March, 22% fewer than in the same period a year earlier. The Ministry of Justice also reported that average employment tribunal case lengths increased between 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Multiple claims continued to make up most of the employment tribunal’s overall caseload. At the end of March, 467,000 multiple claims remained open, represented by 7,500 lead cases.
When single and multiple claims are combined, the tribunal’s total open caseload stood at 531,000. However, the Ministry of Justice cautioned that multiple-claim figures can fluctuate significantly because one dispute involving a large group of workers can have a substantial effect on the totals.
The department also said an ongoing data-quality review indicated that the reported open caseload for single and lead multiple cases could include an overcount of approximately 3%.
Unfair dismissal was the largest category of complaint recorded on the tribunal’s newer case-management system during the January-to-March quarter, accounting for 23% of jurisdictional complaints. Disability discrimination represented 16%, while unauthorised deductions from wages accounted for 13%.
Together, those three categories made up around 52% of recorded complaints. The Ministry of Justice said the jurisdictional breakdown currently covers only single claims held on the newer system and does not represent the tribunal’s entire caseload.
The figures show receipts continuing to exceed disposals, contributing to an increase in the tribunal’s open caseload.