20 August 2023 , 16:08
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Workers who make claims to employment tribunals are being forced to wait 60% longer than they were when the Tories took power, stark new figures show.
Data from the Ministry of Justice reveals people are waiting a massive 49 weeks between receiving their employment tribunal claim and their first hearing - 18 weeks higher than in 2010. Labour has blamed Government "mismanagement" and warned the system is at breaking point.
A top Tory admitted there were over 50,500 open cases in the UK’s employment tribunal system in December 2022. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner fumed: “Working people deserve security and certainty at work but Tory mismanagement is leaving many facing appalling waits to access employment tribunals. Speedy resolutions are good for workers and good for businesses – giving employers the benefit from the certainty of an efficient process and a level playing field. 13 years of the Tory failure has left the employment tribunal system at breaking point, with the biggest courts backlog on record meaning millions are missing out on justice."
The figures were released by Tory Mike Freer, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Service, who said: "Waiting times have risen from 2019 due to the pandemic."
In 2019 the average wait was 38 weeks - eight more than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010. The figures shared by Mr Freer revealed waits dropped to 27 weeks in 2013, but have risen every year since 2016.
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Ms Rayner said Labour will set up a new enforcement body for employment protections, and extend the period that claims can be brought forward to employment tribunals from three to six months.
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