AI use in job tribunal claims overwhelms courts
Workers are increasingly using AI to fire off job tribunal claims – piling pressure on firms and clogging up the courts, reports BritPanorama.
Experts warn that a surge in chatbot-written cases is overwhelming an already stretched system, with many claims grounded in incorrect rules or even non-existent legal arguments.
This trend forces businesses to allocate time and resources to defending unsubstantiated cases while genuine disputes are delayed further in the queue.
Justice minister Baroness Levitt recently acknowledged in a written parliamentary response that the Government is aware claimants are leveraging AI to assess and draft cases. However, she revealed that no formal assessment has been made regarding the impact on tribunal workloads.
Mike Hibberd, a partner at Doyle Clayton and an expert in employment and data privacy law, noted, “We’re seeing a huge increase in AI-drafted interim applications, which is drastically increasing the already strained Tribunal’s administrative resources. AI can also confuse different procedures.”
Hibberd remarked that this confusion leads to applications that are either irrelevant in general proceedings or unsuitable in specific cases. He highlighted the issue of “hallucinations”—an AI phenomenon that can exacerbate the Employment Tribunal’s workload concerning general case management.
Delays have been described as “snowballing,” with Hibberd warning that Labour’s Employment Rights Act 2025 could further burden the system by adding more cases. Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith called for an urgent investigation into the rising use of AI, stating, “The Employment Tribunal system has been failing for years, but the very last thing anyone needs – least of all hard-pressed employers – is AI online robots deluging the courts with spurious claims.”
He added that Labour’s regulatory framework would exacerbate the situation, turning a crisis into a disaster for those with authentic claims.
A Courts and Tribunal Service spokesperson commented, “All claims that progress to a hearing are thoroughly scrutinised by judges. We are working to reduce the outstanding Employment Tribunal caseload by recruiting more judges and investing in new technology to improve productivity.”
The intersection of AI technology and legal proceedings raises significant questions about procedural integrity and the adequacy of current judicial resources in handling an influx of automated claims.
