Clare Brennan explores growing pressures on the Employment Tribunal system in The Law Society Gazette

Clare's comments were published in The Law Society Gazette, 22 June 2026, and can be seen here.

Clare Brennan, Partner in our Corporate & Commercial team, discusses that capacity within the tribunal system will remain an issue even with more use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

The Employment Tribunal system is under significant pressure, with rising claim volumes, increasing complexity and mounting backlogs pushing cases years into the future.

A combination of expanded employment rights, more accessible claims and the growing use of AI to draft submissions is adding to the strain, making cases longer and more resource-heavy to manage. 

While a range of reforms have been proposed, including greater use of mediation and procedural changes, there is little consensus on how best to ease the pressure. Many commentators agree that without addressing underlying capacity issues, delays are likely to persist. 

Clare notes that although early resolution through Acas already plays an important role, it is itself under pressure, suggesting that additional reliance on mediation alone is unlikely to resolve the backlog.

Read the full article on The Law Society Gazette's website [external link].