Citizens Advice has urged the government to create a single enforcement body for employment rights after the dramatic rise in tribunal claims during the pandemic. This has led to a severe backlog of cases and also to 29 per cent of unfair dismissal cases being abandoned by employees in the first half of 2020.
In a report, Citizens Advice stated that outstanding claims would extend beyond half a million by spring next year, with the simultaneous rise in demand and restricted capacity described as a “perfect storm”. It concluded that some claimants believed withdrawing their cases was “preferable to a lengthy limbo period”, particularly with the eventual outcome at Tribunal unknown.
Among those being denied justice were employees reporting furlough fraud and whistleblowers sacked after raising concerns about their employers breaching Covid-19 guidelines.
