Tribunal Intelligence · Yerty Findings
How long do employment tribunal cases take?
Summary of findings
Most published cases never reached a full merits hearing: 29% ended at withdrawal or dismissal, 19% at strike-out and 11% at default judgment. Another 24% went straight to merits with no preliminary step, and 17% took other paths. Where a second decision was published, the gap between the two was measured in weeks or months: the middle case took 82 days from a full decision to a reconsideration and 213 days from a preliminary issue to a full decision.
What commonly happened
Share of published cases by journey type. Figures are rounded and the remaining paths are grouped.
| Journey | Detail | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ends at withdrawal / dismissal | No merits hearing | 29% |
| Straight to merits | No preliminary step | 24% |
| Ends at strike-out | No merits hearing | 19% |
| Ends at default judgment | No merits hearing | 11% |
| All other paths | Prelim, remedy, reconsideration… | 17% |
The gap between decisions
For cases with more than one published decision, the time runs between the two decisions, not from when the claim was made. Middle half is approximate.
| First decision, then next | Cases | Middle case (days) | Middle half (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary issue then full decision | 411 | 213 | 130–370 |
| Full decision then reconsideration | 785 | 82 | 45–200 |
| Judgment without a defence then full decision | 289 | 93 | 55–225 |
Method
Methodology & coverage
Journey shares are the share of published cases by journey type, rounded, with the remaining paths grouped. Gaps are for cases with more than one published decision; time runs between the two decisions, not from when the claim was made. The middle case is the median, and the middle half is the range covering the middle half of cases. Claims resolved without any published decision do not appear. These are past published cases only, not a forecast for any one claim.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common way for a published tribunal case to end?
Ending at withdrawal or dismissal, at 29% of published cases, with no merits hearing. A further 24% went straight to a merits hearing with no preliminary step.
How many published cases never reach a full merits hearing?
Most. Withdrawal or dismissal (29%), strike-out (19%) and default judgment (11%) all ended without a merits hearing.
How long is it between two decisions in the same case?
It depended on the pair. The middle case took 213 days from a preliminary issue to a full decision, 82 days from a full decision to a reconsideration, and 93 days from a judgment without a defence to a full decision.
Is this the time from when the claim was made?
No. The gaps are measured between two published decisions, not from when the claim was made.
Do these figures predict how long my case will take?
No. They describe past published cases only, not a forecast for any one claim.
See timing in cases like yours
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- Yerty Intelligence Hub — analysis of published employment tribunal decisions
Related: Timelines · reconsideration rate · case complexity
How to cite this
Yerty (2026). How long do employment tribunal cases take?. Yerty Intelligence Hub. https://yerty.co.uk/tribunal-data/findings/how-long-tribunal-cases-take (last updated November 2026).Figures reflect the analytical subset used for this question; see our methodology for corpus coverage. 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. The figures above describe past published cases and are not a forecast for any individual claim. For advice on your circumstances, consider speaking to a qualified employment solicitor.