How long does an employment tribunal take?

Every Employment Tribunal case number ends with the year the ET1 was filed — for example, a case number ending in /2024 was filed in 2024. By comparing the filing year to the published decision date across 26,901 cases, we can calculate how long each case took from filing to published written decision.

Note: this measures time to the published written decision, not time to the hearing itself. The hearing typically takes place weeks or months before the written judgment is published.

The figures below use 2024 filings as the base — the most recent year with a large enough sample of completed cases — then apply a 20% forward uplift to reflect the current backlog. The MOJ's latest statistics show single ET open caseload up 33% year-on-year and disposals down 10%.

Yes — and the pattern holds within both jurisdictions. Discrimination cases take 4–6 months longer than unfair dismissal cases filed in the same jurisdiction. The most likely explanation is that discrimination cases require more hearing days and are harder to list.

The table below shows the relative multiplier for each claim type, derived from the database. A multiplier of 1.20 means the case takes roughly 20% longer than a comparable unfair dismissal case in the same jurisdiction.

The tribunal system is under significant pressure. Single ET open caseload has reached its highest ever level in the published timeseries, and disposals fell 10% in the latest quarter. Cases filed today will join a longer queue than cases filed in 2024. Research published in May 2026 found average waits of four years in some regions, and separate analysis reported by People Management suggests some hearings are now being listed as far out as 2030.

For context: an unfair dismissal case filed in England & Wales in 2024 took an average of 14.5 months to reach a published decision. Adjusted for the current backlog, a similar case filed today is likely to take around 17 months.

Complex discrimination cases could take significantly longer — the slow 25% of England & Wales cases already exceed 22 months on the 2024 base figures, before the backlog adjustment.

These are averages across published decisions. Cases that settle or are withdrawn before a judgment is issued are not in the dataset — the actual median for all claims (including those that resolve early) is likely shorter.

Waiting times are calculated from the filing year (derived from the last 4 digits of the case number) to the published decision date. They represent the full case lifecycle, not just the time from listing to hearing.

The 20% backlog uplift is conservative. The MOJ data shows a 33% increase in open caseload — we use 20% to avoid overstating the effect of a single quarter's data.

Source: Tribunal Intel database (26,901 decisions) and MOJ Tribunal Statistics Quarterly, July–September 2025.