Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Act on the number of employment disputes before the employment tribunal; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory mediation.

The Employment Rights Act (ERA) is part of the Government’s commitment to Make Work Pay. The Act includes measures that strengthens worker’s rights, which we expect will increase demand in the Employment Tribunal. The impact on the Employment Tribunal has been considered in the published impact assessments and economic analysis. A summary of the impact of the number of employment disputes before the Employment Tribunal is available in Table A11 here: Employment Rights Act 2025: economic analysis.

It is a question for the judiciary on whether they would like to expand judicial mediation. Judges can choose to mediate, depending on whether they think the case is appropriate, which is typically claims of discrimination or complex unfair dismissals.

We do recognise that there are significant demand pressures on the Employment Tribunals and are therefore working with the judiciary, HMCTS and the Department for Business and Trade on any further actions needed to alleviate pressures on the Employment Tribunals, improve efficiency and reduce waiting times to ensure the Employment Tribunal is able to absorb the impact of the Employment Rights Act whilst ensuring timely access to justice for claimants and respondents.