Data obtained under a Freedom of Information request has shown that 3,365 employment tribunals were postponed within 48 hours of the scheduled hearing, between 1 August 2017 and 31 March 2018. Cases that were adjourned on the actual day of the hearing have not been included in these figures.
A survey of Employment Lawyers Association members - which received 320 responses - revealed that 90% of respondents had experienced delays in tribunals dealing with interim paper applications; 57% had experienced delays in receiving reserved judgments and 45% reported postponements of a hearing due to a lack of judicial resources.
These figures suggest that the tribunal system has been under strain since last year when the Supreme Court determined that tribunal fees were unlawful and should be abolished.
In June, The Ministry of Justice published figures revealing that the number of claims brought by a single person - rather than by a group of people - in the first quarter of 2018, increased to 9,252. This was up 118% in comparison with the previous year. During this time, the caseload which was outstanding increased by 89%.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice said that the employees bringing the claims had requested postponements in 87% of the cases and added:
“Every effort is made to ensure delays are kept to a minimum.”
Barry Stanton, Head of Employment Law at Boyes Turner, told People Management:
“There have always been postponements; postponements cause stress to the parties (and the lawyers). Claims languish, often for months, before everyone has to refocus their efforts with a renewed hearing date. Those costs – and the need to recall events which are now even older – lead inevitably to dissatisfaction.”
He continued:
“Sadly, postponements seem to be an inevitable part of the tribunal system. The alternative would be listing cases to be heard, with a guarantee that each case will be heard on the scheduled date. Doing that would lead to significant delays in getting cases to a hearing or significantly increasing tribunal resources, with the inevitable result that tribunals will incur costs without any tangible benefit and sit idle.”
Chair of ELA’s tribunal resources working party and Head of Employment at UK firm Kingsley Napley - Richard Fox - stated that reports had been received of delays of 'many weeks and in some cases, even months’, before tribunals dealt with claims. He added that many employment judges are dealing with the administration themselves – which includes typing up their own orders and directly distributing them to the involved parties and lawyers had been informed that it may take a year before there are appreciably more judges in place.
He said:
“Our findings are deeply worrying. Tribunals are plainly under intense strain at the moment. Some of these issues are down to a lack of judicial resource; others to the lack of support at an administrative level. What is particularly concerning is that we are still far short of the number of claims being brought before the tribunal fees were introduced in the summer of 2013. So, in all likelihood, the pressures on the system are only going to get worse before they get better.”
Croner's Associate Director - Paul Holcroft – said:
“The tribunal process can be distressing for all parties and postponements will only add to the distress felt – something which will be even more heightened when the postponement occurs so close to the hearing date.”
He added:
“Although some postponements can be completely unforeseen – for example, those relating to adverse weather or hearing centre facilities – the lack of judicial resources must be a huge contributory factor and the quicker this problem is fixed, the better.”
In June, the Judicial Appointments Commission finished a recruitment drive for 54 salaried employment tribunal judges and Judge Brian Doyle has forecast that offers for positions will be made in January 2019.
