The Times has reported that workers are under pressure to settle employment claims instead of waiting to go to court - as the tribunal system is reported to be struggling to cope with the volume of business.
The pandemic has resulted in cases that had been listed for final hearings since the end of March 2020 having not gone ahead as in-person hearings - which had been the intention. Originally, employment tribunal final hearings were being changed to hearings over the telephone - to discuss how to manage and progress the case. Since June 2020, this has resulted in the wait for cases to be heard having been further extended - with many final hearings going ahead as remote final hearings using a cloud video platform.
According to figures from the Ministry of Justice, the number of outstanding single claims in England, Wales and Scotland reached a record high of 45,000 in January 2021, with the number of outstanding multiple cases rising from about 5,000 in March 2020 to about 6,300 a year later. Altogether about 500,000 individuals were involved. It is also expected that tribunals could see an increase again as the furlough leave scheme comes to an end.
Unfair dismissal was the most common claim dealt with by the tribunal between January to March 2021 and with the courts struggling to deal with a backlog of cases, some longer trials have been listed into 2023.
The Employment Lawyers Association conducted a survey that showed significant delays to final hearings occur regularly - and of the 700 responses received, 40 per cent of lawyers stated that they are waiting over a year for their clients’ cases to be heard. The survey also found that over 80 per cent of final hearings that took place related to events had happened at least six months ago - and 90 per cent of lawyers had final hearings listed six months or more in the future.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said:
“We are investing £76 million to speed up our tribunals, install new video technology and recruit more judges. Employment tribunal hearings are now back to pre-pandemic level - and we have introduced 5,000 additional sitting days to drive recovery.”
However, Ryan Russell - partner at MML Legal - stated that he was surprised at the findings, saying that “the tribunal system in Scotland has been very effective”.
He added:
“The way in which they have adapted the online CVP hearing system has seen the vast majority of cases dealt with in the same time scales. There is no doubt there has been a delay with in-person hearings but overall, I think the tribunal system has adapted very well in Scotland, everyone is doing the best they can in the circumstances.”
He expressed concern over the claim that workers are being pressured into settling and stated:
“I have would have serious concerns over any worker being pressured to settle a claim. At the end of the day, the pursuit of a tribunal is always making the best of a bad situation and in litigation there are never any guarantees.”
