Backlog Britain: Why We Built the Holly Blue eLearning School

You can feel it, can’t you?

That quiet sense of pressure building behind the scenes, more grievances, more compliance tasks, more nervous glances at the ACAS Code. And now the numbers are in: employment tribunal claims are soaring, and the system that’s supposed to resolve them? It’s buckling under the weight.

We’ve just read the latest stats and they’re eye-watering.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s latest figures (Q1 2025), single tribunal claims are up 23%, and the backlog has grown to nearly half a million open cases. That’s not a typo. Half a million.

And while the government is promising more tribunal judges and bigger case capacity, everyone in the industry knows the truth: that help is still a long way off. Employers are being left to navigate rising risks on their own, with tribunal delays now stretching two years or more.

These headlines from the last few weeks say it all:

• Workers’ rights bill risks swamping broken tribunal system – The Times

• UK employment tribunal backlog hits record high – Financial Times

• Workers' bill ‘won’t work unless tribunal backlog is cleared’ – The Times

So when we say it’s time to stop being reactive, we mean it. There’s no cavalry coming. No shortcut to resolution. No “quick win” if something goes wrong.

Why We Built the Holly Blue eLearning School

We’ve been quietly building something behind the scenes, not because it’s trendy, but because we see what’s coming.

Next year, the new Workers’ Rights Bill is expected to overhaul the employment landscape. From day-one rights to expanded protections for casual and agency staff, there’s no question: employer obligations are about to become more complex and more dangerous to get wrong.

That’s why we launched the Holly Blue eLearning School.

We knew that it wouldn’t be enough to just advise. We needed to teach. To make sure every manager knows what “reasonable investigation” means. That supervisors understand what a protected disclosure really looks like. That line managers can spot harassment before it escalates.

Because the tribunal won’t teach them. The law expects you to already know.

A Service That Doesn’t Just React — It Prevents

Our service offering at Holly Blue has always been about more than just legal letters and helpline advice. We’ve represented employers at tribunals. We’ve handled grievances that could have gone nuclear. And we’ve rebuilt entire compliance systems from the ground up.

But now, we go further.

We give our clients access to our full eLearning school, with training modules on:

• Sexual harassment and discrimination

• Probation dismissals and investigation processes

• Whistleblowing and protected disclosures

• Menopause at work, manual handling, and more

These aren’t optional extras. They’re essential defences and the kind of learning that shows up in tribunal judgments and makes the difference between winning and paying out.

We include it because it's part of doing the job properly. Because a policy is only as strong as the person applying it.

Our Message to Employers

If you’re waiting for a claim to act, you’re already behind. The tribunal won’t get to you for two years but your staff won’t wait that long to post on Glassdoor, take legal advice, or file a grievance.

Now is the time to get ahead.

We’re here to help with practical support, straight answers, and the kind of proactive service that doesn't just sound good on paper but stands up in real life (and in court).