Minister defends Employment Rights Bill at Acas conference

To reduce the backlog in employment tribunal cases, the government wants to appoint additional judges and caseworkers.

Justin Madders, the employment rights minister, said that high caseloads and long delays were now normal. He made this statement at the Acas annual conference in Westminster. It was not in anyone’s best interest. Not the workers’, and not the businesses that want to move quickly.

We are taking action to combat this. We’re hiring more judges and additional legal caseworkers. But we want to go even further.”

Employment lawyers have warned of the dangers of the Employment Rights Bill, which introduces a number of new rights for workers.

According to figures released last week, the number of cases pending at employment tribunals continues to increase. According to the quarterly statistics of HM Courts and Tribunals Service, there were 49,800 cases at the end 2024. This is a 23% rise on the 39,000 cases from a year ago.

The backlog of tribunal cases means that about 450,000 people, with single and multiple claims are waiting to have their cases resolved.

Philip Cameron, partner of the law firm Littler said last week that the government needed to provide additional funding in order to help tribunals deal with their current backlog as well as the expected surge in disputes after the Employment Bill is passed.

Madders said that from the end of 2026, the Fair Work Agency would be operating. This would relieve some pressure on the tribunals.

A representative of the Employment Lawyer’s Association told the minister at the conference there needed to be more cases settled before they went to tribunal. However, despite this, more judges need to be recruited and legal infrastructure needs to improve.

Mediation

Madders also heard from Pete Colby, the director of Pragmatism’s mediation service, that there was no need to spend more money on formal judicial procedures or more judges but rather, more resources should be allocated for convened discussion between claimants.

According to a government source, “we are working to make sure employment tribunals can handle any increase in their caseload.” The recruitment of about 1,000 judges and members to employment tribunals is part of this effort.

Madders refused to provide any details on the implementation timetable, even though the Employment Rights Bill had reached the House of Lords. Madders said that much work was still required in the creation of codes of practice and secondary legislation.

It is not expected that the biggest reforms such as the day-one right will come into force until at least next autumn.

Later, CBI Chairman Rupert Soames and TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak debated the Bill . Soames dismissed some of the Bill as “absolute nonsense” while Nowak hailed the measures as an opportunity to improve the lives of millions.

Social partnership Approach

Nita Clifton, Director of the Involvement and Participation Association at the Acas Conference, said that the Employment Relations Bill should have been called that to reflect that a social partner approach is the best way to ensure that its measures are effective and that industrial disputes can be resolved. She said that the government cannot intervene every week in order to settle disputes.

Clarke said that unions should be aware of not just their rights, but also their responsibilities. He added that in order to improve industrial relations, the UK must increase employee engagement, as it is currently ranked 30th among 37 countries.

Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect, a civil service union, also echoed her comments. He told delegates to avoid a “union say no” attitude in an age of technological change and changes in employment laws.

Inactivity

In the meantime, Sir Charlie Mayfield (former chair of the John Lewis Partnership and current leader of the Keep Britain Working review) told the delegates that the problem of economic stagnation due to ill health is not insurmountable.

He pointed out that Denmark and the Netherlands have systems in place for helping people get back to work and filling the gap between GPs and employers. He stated that employers in Denmark were more likely to hire those with a patchy work history and neurodivergents because “it was easier to fire people”. He said that in Denmark, employers were more willing to hire people with a patchy employment record and those who are neurodivergent because it was “easier to fire people”.

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