Why HR and Employment Law Support Is Becoming More Valuable, Not Less

For some time, HR and Employment Law support has been treated by parts of the market as an optional add-on or a bundled “free” service. That approach is now increasingly misaligned with reality.

Rather than reiterating arguments already made elsewhere, it is worth stepping back and looking at the objective data. When viewed collectively, it points to a clear conclusion. In light of the Employment Rights Bill and the current state of the tribunal system, credible HR and Employment Law support is becoming higher value, not commoditised. For employers, it is rapidly becoming a core risk management function.

A Tribunal System Under Severe Strain

The UK employment tribunal system is already operating under significant pressure. The backlog of claims has surpassed half a million, with open cases continuing to rise. Tribunal receipts are increasing year on year, while disposals are failing to keep pace. The result is a growing volume of unresolved cases sitting in an under-resourced system.

Recent government statistics confirm that more claims are entering the system than are being resolved. In 2024/25 alone, the Employment Tribunal received approximately 42,000 single claims, representing a 23 percent increase on the previous year, while around 45,000 single claims remained open. Multiple claims, particularly those arising from redundancy exercises or systemic issues, continue to represent hundreds of thousands of individual claimants.

Delay matters. Prolonged timelines increase cost, weaken employer leverage, and place sustained pressure on organisations to settle, often regardless of merit.

The Employment Rights Bill Will Accelerate Claims

Against this backdrop, the Employment Rights Bill is set to materially change the employment law landscape. One of the most significant proposed reforms is the reduction of the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from two years to six months. That change alone dramatically expands the pool of workers eligible to bring claims.

More broadly, the Bill reflects a wider shift toward expanded worker protections, heightened regulatory scrutiny, and increased expectations around procedural fairness, predictable work, harassment prevention, and grievance handling. Legal commentators consistently note that these reforms will increase employer obligations and litigation risk, particularly for businesses without robust processes and documentation in place.

The direction of travel is clear. Claims will become easier to bring, not harder, and employers will be judged more closely on how decisions are made, recorded, and evidenced.

Employers Are Underprepared

Despite these trends, many employers remain underprepared. Tribunal commentary and professional analysis increasingly point to procedural error, inconsistent documentation, and poor handling of grievances as the root causes of avoidable disputes.

This is not simply a legal issue. It is an operational one. Employers are expected to evidence fair treatment, clear communication, and reasonable decision-making across the employment lifecycle. When that framework is missing, even minor issues can escalate rapidly into formal disputes.

In that environment, access to timely employment law advice, supported by compliant documentation and training, is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a protective mechanism.

The Real Cost of Defending Claims

The financial impact of tribunal claims reinforces this point. Published pricing and firm-level data consistently show that defending an Employment Tribunal claim is expensive, even before any award is considered.

A straightforward, single-day hearing commonly results in legal costs in the region of £6,000 to £12,000 or more. Medium complexity claims involving multi-day hearings often fall between £12,000 and £30,000, depending on preparation, witnesses, and representation. More complex matters, such as discrimination or whistleblowing claims, can easily exceed £30,000 to £50,000 plus VAT and disbursements.

These figures exclude internal management time, reputational damage, and the operational disruption caused by prolonged proceedings.

Why This Changes the Commercial Model

Taken collectively, the conclusion is unavoidable. The regulatory environment is becoming more demanding, claims are becoming easier to bring, and the system designed to resolve them is already overstretched.

In that context, HR and Employment Law support is not a low-value commodity. It is a critical safeguard. That is why advisory access, supported by structured templates and training, should sit at the core of any modern employment platform. These elements scale, prevent error, and reduce escalation.

By contrast, bespoke documentation and tribunal work do not scale. They require fact-specific analysis, professional judgment, and significant time investment. Treating those services as chargeable rather than absorbed is not only commercially sensible, it reflects their true value and risk profile.

The data does not support a race to the bottom on price. It supports a model that recognises employment law support for what it has become. A core operational and financial protection for employers navigating an increasingly complex legal landscape.