If you've felt like tribunal claims are landing on your desk more often than they used to, you're not imagining it. The numbers back you up, and they're not subtle. If you need support with an Employment Tribunal Claim we have a Tribunal Claim Review Service
At the end of March 2026, there were 64,000 open single claims sitting in the employment tribunal system, 55% higher than the same point the year before. Over the 2025/26 financial year, the tribunal received 50,000 single claims and disposed of just 26,000, meaning receipts rose 39% while disposals actually fell 12%. Add in multiple claims, where one dispute can generate hundreds or thousands of linked cases against a single employer, and the total open caseload across the system stood at 531,000 by the end of March.
That's the headline. The more useful question for any employer is what's actually driving it, because the growth isn't spread evenly across claim types.
Three categories have grown dramatically faster than the average. TUPE claims rose 227% year on year, the single biggest percentage increase of any jurisdiction. National minimum wage claims rose 122%. Whistleblowing claims rose 112%, reaching 2,199 claims. Disability discrimination climbed 79% to 4,056 claims, making it the second most common single complaint type after unfair dismissal.
Put together, unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and unauthorised deductions from wages now account for over half of all tribunal complaints between them. Unfair dismissal alone features in 51% of claims and makes up 23% of total complaints on its own.
None of these categories grew by accident. TUPE claims spike when restructuring and outsourcing activity increases and consultation gets rushed. Minimum wage claims spike when payroll doesn't keep pace with rate changes and when hours worked, including travel time and training, get miscounted. Whistleblowing claims spike when internal reporting channels are weak or when a dismissal follows too closely after a protected disclosure for comfort. Disability discrimination claims spike when reasonable adjustment requests get handled informally instead of through a documented process.
The pattern here matters more than the headline figure. This isn't simply "more claims are being brought because people know their rights better," although that's part of it. It's that specific operational weaknesses are being tested at scale, and employers who haven't looked hard at TUPE process, wage calculation accuracy, whistleblowing procedure and reasonable adjustment handling are sitting in exactly the areas where claim growth is steepest.
If any of those four areas sound like something your business hasn't reviewed recently, that's where to start.
If you have received an Employment Tribunal Claim or ET1 and you need help with that - check out our Employment Tribunal Claim Review Service
