UK Employment Tribunal Claims Hit Record Levels in 2026
Tribunal claims hit 11,857 in Q4 2025/26, up 58% year-on-year. What the record backlog, longer 36-week waits, and rising claims mean if you're bringing a case.
6 min read · 14 Jun 2026
yerty/tribunal-data
Employment tribunal data & outcomes.
Outcome rates, award ranges, waiting times, and quarterly snapshots — drawn from the published UK employment tribunal record and official HMCTS / MoJ statistics.
18 articles
Holiday Pay & Working Time Tribunal Claims: Data & Outcomes
1,771 working time and holiday pay claims were lodged in Q3 2025/26, up 79% year on year. See UK tribunal data on outcomes, success rates and time to resolve.
11 min read · 21 May 2026
Unauthorised Deductions From Wages: Tribunal Data & Outcomes
2,908 unauthorised deduction claims were lodged in Q3 2025/26, up 77% year on year. See UK tribunal data on outcomes, success rates and time to resolve.
10 min read · 20 May 2026
How Likely Is My Employment Claim to Settle? The Data
Around 79% of employment tribunal cases never reach a hearing. See the official data on settlement rates by claim type — updated with Q3 2025/26 figures and current backlog context.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Working Time Claim? Highest Win Rate at Hearing
Working time claims reached 1,771 in Q3 2025/26, up 79% year-on-year. 79% win at hearing (highest of any claim type), 13% default judgment, 24% ACAS settle. Mean 29 weeks.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Redundancy Pay Claim? High Win Rate at Hearing
Redundancy pay claims reached 639 in Q3 2025/26, up 65% year-on-year. 71% win at hearing, 15% default judgment (highest of any claim), 17% ACAS settle. Mean 30 weeks.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Pregnancy Discrimination Case? Highest Settlement Rate
Pregnancy discrimination claims reached 448 in Q3 2025/26, up 85% year-on-year. 41% ACAS settle (highest of any claim). 94% resolved without hearing. No qualifying service needed.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Sex Discrimination Case? 92% Never Reach a Hearing
Sex discrimination reached 1,294 in Q3 2025/26, up 59% year-on-year. 32% ACAS settle, 92% resolved without hearing. Mean 34 weeks.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Race Discrimination Case? Data from 1,544 Claims
Race discrimination reached 1,544 in Q3 2025/26, up 70% year-on-year. 31% ACAS settle, 25% win at hearing. 96% resolved without hearing. Mean 36 weeks — among the slowest.
8 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Breach of Contract Case? The Only Claim Type Declining
Breach of contract fell 4.3% year-on-year to 1,822 claims in Q3 2025/26 — still the only declining major claim type. 53% win at hearing (highest of any claim type with Q3 data), 28% ACAS settle. Mean 34 weeks.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Unpaid Wages Claim? 2,908 Claims Per Quarter
Unauthorised deductions from wages reached 2,908 in Q3 2025/26, up 77% year-on-year. 69% win at hearing, 13% default judgment, 25% ACAS settle. Mean 29 weeks — among the fastest.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Whistleblowing Case? Claims More Than Doubled
Whistleblowing claims reached 1,796 in Q3 2025/26, up 102% year-on-year — more than doubled in twelve months. 30% settle via ACAS. 84% resolved without a hearing. The fastest-growing claim type in the tribunal system.
8 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Disability Discrimination Case? 3,481 Claims and Growing
Disability discrimination claims reached 3,481 in Q3 2025/26, up 99% year-on-year. 32% settle via ACAS. Of cases that reached a hearing, 20% succeeded. 95% are resolved without a hearing. Mean clearance time is now 34 weeks.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Will Happen in My Unfair Dismissal Case? The Data Behind 5,481 Claims
Unfair dismissal is the most common tribunal claim, with 5,481 filed in Q3 2025/26, up 72% year-on-year. 32% settle via ACAS, 43% win at hearing. Mean wait time 33 weeks. Over 82% are resolved without a hearing.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
Employment Tribunal Backlog Passes 30,000: What This Means for Your Claim
The tribunal backlog reached 30,784 single claims in Q3 2025/26, up 167% year-on-year. Mean clearance time has risen to 31 weeks — up from 19 weeks a year ago. The system adds over 5,500 cases to the backlog every quarter.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
What Actually Happens to Employment Tribunal Claims? The Real Outcomes
Only 4% of tribunal claims succeed at hearing — but of cases that actually reached a hearing in Q3 2025/26, 44% won. 29% settle via ACAS. 91% are resolved without a hearing. See the real outcome data by claim type.
7 min read · 21 Mar 2026
UK Employment Tribunal Claims Hit Record Levels in 2025
UK employment tribunal claims reached 10,424 in Q3 2025/26 (October to December 2025), up 61% year-on-year. The open caseload now stands at 30,784, up 167% in a year. Whistleblowing claims more than doubled. The system disposes of fewer than half the claims it receives.
6 min read · 21 Mar 2026
Why Are Employment Tribunal Claims Struck Out?
Strike out rates range from 2-8% depending on claim type. The biggest reasons: not having 2 years' service for unfair dismissal (32%), not responding to the tribunal (14%), and not attending hearings (12.5%). Most strike outs are avoidable – responding to tribunal letters, meeting deadlines, and checking eligibility before you claim can protect your case.
9 min read · 10 Dec 2025
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Explore the Intelligence HubData insights
Quick answers, backed by charts
Short reads that answer one question about the employment tribunal record, with charts drawn from the published judgments and official statistics.
How often does the unfair dismissal cap actually apply?
The statutory cap bites in only ~5–7% of unfair-dismissal compensatory awards (445 of 6,158) — for the typical claim it is irrelevant, constraining only the high-earner tail.
How often do discrimination claims succeed at an employment tribunal?
Success rates range from 56.8% for pregnancy and maternity down to 11.3% for religion or belief — pregnancy and maternity is the only characteristic where most decided claims succeed.
Employment tribunal awards: typical vs maximum payouts
The median unfair dismissal award was £6,746 in 2023/24, but maximums reach £995,128. The median, not the headline figure, is the realistic reference point.
How often are employment tribunal claimants represented?
Employers are represented in 68.8% of cases, claimants in just 33.4% — and the most common matchup is a represented employer facing an unrepresented claimant (43.3%).
Which UK sectors face the most employment tribunal claims?
The public sector (15.1%), healthcare (11.5%) and retail (9.7%) lead by employer sector — the top five sectors make up roughly half of all identifiable judgments.
What happens to a tribunal award after you win?
Among ~30,040 awarding cases the most common adjustments are the ACAS uplift (9.8%, +17%), Polkey reductions (6.3%, −49%) and contributory fault (5.9%, −40%) — the headline award is rarely the final figure.
How often are costs ordered at tribunal — and who pays?
Costs are rare — ordered in at least 2.4% of cases. When they land, claimants pay nearly twice as often as employers, and at seven times the median (£7,142 vs £1,000).
How often are employment tribunal decisions reconsidered?
A reconsideration is recorded in about 4.2% of published cases — roughly 1 in 24. Most tribunal decisions are final.
When your employer goes insolvent, who pays?
The state backstops statutory payments via the National Insurance Fund — making the Secretary of State one of the UK's most-named tribunal respondents (~1 in 70 cases), with a median award of £5,010.