It has been recently announced that the court and tribunal capacity in Leeds city centre is set to be bolstered by the opening of a new courts and tribunals buildings. The government funded expansion, which will be on a newly refurbished site in the West Gate district, shows an appetite for increased investment into our country’s northern court system.

Currently, the average employment tribunal claimant waits 49 weeks between receiving their tribunal claim and their first hearing. This is 60% longer than in 2010. This is causing substantial impacts on both employees and businesses. In December 2022 there were more than 50,500 open cases in the UK tribunal system. The introduction of new courts to reduce this will only benefit both sides.

The new space will create capacity for more hearing rooms, more employment tribunal rooms and new business and property court rooms. This will ensure there is a dedicated space for cases to be heard whether they are for business, disputes, evictions or employment related claims.

The new hearing rooms are reported to be state of the art and will certainly be a welcome addition to the existing Leeds court and tribunal buildings, which are increasingly busy and being filled to capacity. The opening of further space will enable the backlog of cases to be reduced and ensure that cases can go ahead quickly and swiftly. This investment shows that Leeds is continuing to develop into a major city player in the legal world and positions us as a leading legal hub in the North.

Whilst the new courts promise a number of improvements to the northern legal system, there are still further advancements to be made to meet the high demand. This includes increasing the number of people working in the employment courts.

I, along with other practitioners in the region, welcome this upgrade and hope that it can deliver the benefits as promised.

 For clients of Switalskis the new space will enable us to progress and conclude their legal disputes much quicker and with less delay on the court and tribunal side.

If you have an employment issue or a dispute and would like support or advice, contact Sarah Naylor on 01302 320621 or email sarah.naylor@switalskis.com