Workplace justice simpler, faster and more accessible for everyone

Employment Tribunals play a vital role in the UK justice system, resolving disputes between employers and employees.These disputes may be on issues such as:

unfair dismissal
discrimination
redundancy
whistleblowing claims
breach of contract

Hearings involve evidence, witness testimony and legal arguments and are decided upon by a judge sitting alone, or by a panel made up of:

a judge
a panel member with a worker’s background
a panel member with an employer’s background

Before the Reform Programme, there were a number of issues with the process:

Panel members and HMCTS teams had to manually handle, transport and store high numbers of paper documents
Transportation of this paper had environmental impacts and caused bottlenecks and delays to cases
Forms weren’t intuitive or supportive, increasing the risk of human error
Claimants and defendants often needed to travel to buildings for hearings
Judges spent time making lower-level decisions, taking them away from complex matters that required them

Our modernisation programme aimed to transform an outdated paper-based system that was struggling to meet modern expectations into an efficient, user-friendly service fit for the 21st century.

Benefits

Since July 2022, more than 17,500 people have made digital claims using the modernised service. These people benefitted from:

an end-to-end digital journey for submitting and managing claims
supportive, intuitive online forms and simplified procedures with reduced legal jargon, reducing the opportunity for errors
the flexibility of real-time case tracking and 24/7 access to case files
an increase in remote hearings which have reduced the need to spend time travelling, as well as additional environmental benefits
faster progression of their case with streamlined administrative processes

Changes to regulations also meant legal officers could be appointed to support judges with certain functions which they could in turn do more effectively through improved technology. This step ensured more efficient use of judicial time for more complex matters.

Our digital transformation

The journey to reform Employment Tribunals began in 2021. Public consultation showed strong support for modernisation and we began the process by developing and testing the new digital claim form (ET1).

This would be the foundation of the modernised services, giving claimants (or their representatives) an accessible, intuitive form that they could access via GOV.UK and complete and submit online at any time.

We then gave users access to two key digital platforms:

MyHMCTS – A specialised portal for legal professionals to manage and interact with case materials on behalf of their client
CitizenUI – An accessible interface for members of the public to access directly

The national rollout completed in July 2024, transforming all Employment Tribunal offices. Throughout rollout, we’ve made sure our staff have felt supported and clear on the role they play in having a positive impact on the tribunal process.

The online service is popular too, with 80% of all single claims now made digitally.

Getting support

While digital innovation is important, we’ve maintained our commitment to accessibility:

Paper options remain for those who need them
Development of central printing facilities
Comprehensive guidance materials
Support for those without digital access or confidence

Feedback and insights

Users across the system have embraced the changes:

Access to the relevant documents without waiting for either the parties or the staff to provide them… it is a game changer. – Tribunal Judge

The system/portal has great potential and should be a very useful and efficient tool for both users and HMCTS. – Legal Professional

I don’t have to carry so much stuff around… I can get what I need usually from the electronic file. – Tribunal Staff Member

Supporting Sarah through her workplace dispute

“I was looking forward to starting my maternity leave and spending time with my family but after a few months, I realised my employer’s attitude towards me had changed.

Before I told them I was pregnant, I was regularly encouraged to apply for promotion and my boss would send me details of vacancies and training opportunities. This contact stopped while I was on maternity leave and I later discovered colleagues had applied for and been promoted into roles I would have been perfect for, but I was never told about them. I was excluded and I felt my employer had discriminated against me and I became extremely unhappy.

It was a daunting prospect, but I decided to make a claim to an Employment Tribunal. I’d never done anything like this before and I was very nervous but the process has been great so far. Because it’s all online, I can log on whenever I want and see how the claim is progressing. This has been really important as I rarely have the time to make phone calls in the day, chasing people up. I also thought I’d have to travel to hearings on a regular basis, but that hasn’t been the case.

I’m actually enjoying the process and I look forward to the claim being settled so I can move on with my life.”

Working together

We worked closely with:

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – now the Department of Business and Trade – and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to consult on plans to reform the service
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to make sure free advice would be available to those using the digital service
the judiciary as a vital partner at all levels