Tribunal Intelligence · Yerty Findings
Which UK sectors face the most employment tribunal claims?
The public sector accounts for the largest share of UK employment tribunal judgments with an identifiable employer, at 15.1%, followed by healthcare (11.5%), retail (9.7%), hospitality (9.4%) and facilities and support services (7.4%). Together these five sectors make up roughly half of all identifiable judgments.
| Sector | Share of judgments |
|---|---|
| Public Sector | 15.1% |
| Healthcare | 11.5% |
| Retail | 9.7% |
| Hospitality | 9.4% |
| Facilities & Support Services | 7.4% |
Five sectors, roughly half the caseload
The public sector, healthcare, retail, hospitality and facilities and support services together account for about 53% of judgments where the employer could be identified. The concentration reflects where large, often unionised or high-turnover workforces meet formal grievance and dismissal processes.
Read this as volume, not risk
These are absolute case counts. Larger sectors simply employ more people, so a high share here does not mean a worker in that sector is more likely to end up at a tribunal. A rate-based view — claims relative to workforce size — produces a materially different ranking, which we will publish next.
Methodology & coverage
Based on Yerty's classification of 95,663 published employment tribunal judgments with an identifiable employer, drawn from a wider set of more than 130,000 judgments and covering 65,665 distinct employers. Judgments where the respondent could not be identified are excluded from the base. Employer sector is not published in the official Ministry of Justice tribunal statistics.
Frequently asked questions
Which sector has the most employment tribunal claims in the UK?
The public sector, which accounts for 15.1% of judgments with an identifiable employer in Yerty's analysis, ahead of healthcare (11.5%) and retail (9.7%).
Do these five sectors really account for half of all claims?
Together the top five sectors make up roughly 53% of judgments where the employer could be identified (95,663 judgments across 65,665 distinct employers).
Does this mean these sectors are the riskiest to work in?
Not directly. These are absolute case counts, and larger sectors employ more people. A rate-based view — claims relative to workforce size — produces a different ranking.
Is employer sector published in official tribunal statistics?
No. The Ministry of Justice does not publish tribunal volumes by employer sector. This breakdown comes from Yerty's classification of published judgments.
How is a judgment assigned to a sector?
Each judgment with a named, identifiable respondent is classified to an employer sector. Judgments where the employer could not be identified are excluded from the base.
Benchmark a case against similar ones
Compare outcomes, awards and timings by sector across the published tribunal record.
Explore the Intelligence Hub →Sources
- Yerty Intelligence Hub — classification of published employment tribunal judgments
Related: discrimination success rates · tribunal representation rates
How to cite this
Yerty (2026). Which UK sectors face the most employment tribunal claims?. Yerty Intelligence Hub. https://yerty.co.uk/tribunal-data/employment-tribunal-claims-by-sector (last updated June 2026).Free to cite for non-commercial use with attribution to Yerty. For commercial use, bulk or API access, or AI training, see our Data Use & Citation policy.
Figures derived from Employment Tribunal decisions published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service on GOV.UK, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Analysis © Yerty. Re-use is subject to our Data Use & Citation policy.
Yerty provides information, not legal advice. These figures describe the published tribunal record and are not a measure of any individual employer or worker's risk. For advice on your circumstances, consider speaking to a qualified employment solicitor.