Employment Tribunals

Baroness Kramer Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Levitt (Lab)]

Of course I accept that the noble and learned Lord is entitled to hold this Government to account, but I am also entitled to remind noble Lords about the record of the previous Government.

Simply to deal with the question, it is true of all parts of the justice system that we are working hard to help parties to resolve cases before they get to court. Court should be the end of the process, not the beginning. It is the most expensive bit and the bit that is most stressful for all those involved. But for cases which must reach court, we are maximising sitting days; we are increasing judicial recruitment; I have already mentioned the virtual region; we are looking to roll out digital systems and pilot AI transcription; we have invested in centralised telephone support so that litigants get a better service when they ring; and work is being done to see how legal officers can better support the judiciary. Judges are our expensive and scarce resort. We want to see how we can support them better and maximise judicial time.

[Baroness Kramer (LD)]

My Lords, the House will know that I do not believe that whistleblowing cases belong in the employment tribunal, but that is where they are. Does the Minister recognise that the cost of going to tribunal is a minimum of £50,000 for a primary hearing, and that the delay is at least three years before the case starts, then followed by appeals, often extending cases out to five to seven years, and that these are used as weapons by employers to make sure that individuals are silenced or accept settlement? It very much discourages whistleblowing and accounts for much of the failure to speak out in many of the scandals that many of us are aware of. Will she take action on this issue and create a new whistleblowing framework?

[Baroness Levitt (Lab)]

I pay tribute to the noble Baroness for her work in relation to whistleblowers. It is incredibly important. The delays across the employment tribunal generally are unacceptable as far as all litigants are concerned, and that is why we are working to try to bring them down but also to ensure that access to justice is really something meaningful and not just words. For most one to two-day cases, we can still list cases in 2026, but there are very long waiting times in the south-east and London south. I take the point that she makes, and perhaps she and I could meet and talk about it further.