Tribunal ‘tsunami’: how AI is reshaping the Employment Tribunal system

The latest Employment Tribunal statistics for 2025/26 confirm what most employment lawyers and many employers already know: the number of claims being brought to the Employment Tribunal has continued to increase.

A claim filed now may not have a substantive hearing until 2030. There has been a 39% increase in single claims compared with last year and, at the same time, a 12% decrease in the disposal of single claims. There has also been a shift in the types of claims being brought, with a particular increase in interim relief applications.

Interim relief applications

Interim relief is an emergency remedy that can order an employer to reinstate an employee on continued pay pending the outcome of a final hearing. This remedy is only available in cases of automatic unfair dismissal, for example where an employee alleges they have been dismissed because they made a whistleblowing allegation. An application for interim relief must be brought within seven days of the effective date of termination.

Interim relief is awarded extremely rarely by the Employment Tribunal and historically there were about 20 applications across Britain each year. At the time of writing, there are around 20 applications made each month in each of the 12 Employment Tribunal regions. This growth is not readily explained by an economic downturn or reduced judicial capacity and may instead be linked to the influence of AI.

The AI influence

It remains the case that most interim relief applications fail, as there is a high threshold to be met before this remedy is granted. However, each application nonetheless mandates an emergency hearing and the costs to the relevant employer can be substantial. Additionally, these applications mean that other, non-emergency cases must be delayed. This is undoubtedly a contributing factor to the ongoing and significant backlog of cases seen in the Employment Tribunal and the delay to justice that many claimants are experiencing.

AI tools and large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT and Grok, enable litigants-in-person to produce claim forms, legal arguments and witness statements within minutes. While this significantly lowers the effort required to bring a claim, it doesn’t mean that all claims have merit. On the contrary, Tribunals are frequently seeing cases and applications, including interim relief applications, that lack merit, as well as cases where the claimant seems to have a limited understanding of the case they are attempting to bring.

Employment judges report increasingly lengthy documents, invented legal authorities and legally inaccurate pleadings. On a separate but related note, many employers will also have experienced handling grievances from employees that are clearly AI-assisted and, at times, extremely lengthy and difficult to unravel because of the volume of irrelevant material included.

Employment Tribunals are particularly exposed because they are designed to be an accessible, informal and inexpensive forum for claimants, particularly given the unequal power dynamic that can exist between an individual and an organisation. There’s no fee to issue a claim, the losing party generally doesn’t pay the winning party’s legal costs and rejecting a reasonable settlement offer carries no equivalent of a conventional Part 36 penalty. Additionally, poor drafting doesn’t automatically disqualify a claim, unlike the stricter civil courts. However, it’s evident that this low barrier to entry may now be having an adverse effect on the Employment Tribunal system as a whole.

The future of AI and Employment Tribunal claims

From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal will be reduced from two years to six months. Additionally, the current £123,543 compensation cap for unfair dismissal claims will be abolished, meaning claimants will be able to seek compensation for their actual financial losses rather than being subject to a maximum financial cap.

The government forecasts a 17% increase in Employment Tribunal claims as a result of changes to unfair dismissal laws and the wider reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Act. However, the combined effect of these changes and AI-driven claims is likely to lead to an even greater volume of claims and increased complexity.

Practical steps for employers

Employers should ensure they have the appropriate systems in place to strengthen prevention and response. In particular, we recommend that you:

• Audit disciplinary and dismissal processes from day one, particularly for employees with six months’ service or more from 1 January 2027
• Train managers on fair and reasonable processes, including discrimination and whistleblowing risks
• Ensure all staff are properly trained on the prevention of sexual harassment and, most importantly, cultivate a workplace culture with zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination
• Introduce efficient but effective tools to review lengthy AI-driven grievances to identify genuine issues and complaints that require timely investigation
• Always preserve evidence, record all meetings in writing and assess settlement options at an early stage where appropriate
• When in doubt, consult an employment lawyer.