Artificial intelligence drives surge in tribunal cases, straining the system #
Britain's employment tribunal system is buckling under a record number of unresolved cases, and judges say artificial intelligence is playing a growing part in the strain. Figures published alongside new presidential guidance show 64,000 single cases remained open at the end of March, up from 45,000 a year earlier.
The guidance, issued jointly by Judge Barry Clarke, president of the Employment Tribunals for England and Wales, and Judge Susan Walker, his counterpart in Scotland, took effect on 22 June. It was drawn up specifically to address a surge in applications many judges believe is being driven by claimants using AI tools to build their own cases.
How AI Drove a 1,200% Surge in Interim Relief Bids #
Interim relief, an emergency remedy that can force an employer to reinstate or keep paying a dismissed worker while their case is heard, used to be rare. Applications across Great Britain ran to around 20 a year.
That figure has now jumped to roughly 20 a month at each of the tribunal's regional offices, most involving whistleblowing or protected disclosure claims. Judges have also recorded a sharp rise in the volume of paperwork accompanying each application, much of it generated with AI.
The guidance stops short of telling claimants they cannot use AI. It simply reminds them that whatever they submit still has to be concise, relevant and accurate.
282 Pages and 67 Claims. One AI Chatbot. The NHS Case That Sums Up the Crisis #
Employment tribunals are built around short, fact based submissions. AI generated filings, by contrast, can stretch to hundreds of pages and list dozens of legal claims at once, some resting on laws that do not exist.
Barrister John Bowers summed up the problem: 'We get the Magna Carta, the European Convention on Human Rights and everything else thrown in.'
The same report cited one case in which an NHS employee used the AI chatbot Grok to draft a 282-page claim containing 67 separate allegations. The claimant told a judge he intended to rely on only around ten per cent of them, but was unable to say which.
No Clear Economic Trigger #
Tribunal backlogs have traditionally tracked the economy, rising when redundancies climb during a downturn. Judge Clarke has said that pattern is not repeating this time.
'Absolutely no sign' of the usual economic trigger exists, he said, pointing instead to the ease with which AI now lets people file a claim without paying for legal advice.
Employment solicitors have also pointed to the Employment Rights Act 2025 as a contributing factor, noting that single claim receipts have climbed roughly 60 per cent since 2022/23, according to analysis by Wilkes Solicitors. Judges reviewing the data have said the change in the law appears to be prompting more people to come forward, even before AI is factored in.
A rising backlog is not just an administrative headache. Workers with genuine grievances, including whistleblowers and those pushing serious discrimination claims, are now waiting far longer for a hearing, while employers face prolonged uncertainty and rising legal costs defending against claims that may never have been filed without free AI drafting tools.
Because filing a tribunal claim costs nothing and AI can now write the paperwork, the barrier that once kept weaker claims out of the system, the price of a solicitor, has largely disappeared. Judges reading each submission remain the bottleneck, and unless tribunal capacity grows to match demand, the wait for a hearing looks set to keep lengthening for everyone involved.
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