The backlog of unresolved individual claims rose by 55 per cent to 64,000 in the year to March, while the rate at which cases were resolved or rejected fell.

Applications for interim relief, which can allow a tribunal to order an employer to reinstate a dismissed worker or continue paying their wages, have increased more than 100-fold. Employment tribunal presidents Barry Clarke and Susan Walker said there had previously been about 20 applications a year, but “most offices are receiving a similar number each month”.

In meeting minutes, the judges said AI was “likely behind an increase in the complexity of claims, applications for reconsideration and applications for interim relief, as well as inflated schedules of loss”.

Jessica Bass, a partner at Oury Clark, said AI had made it quicker and cheaper for employees to produce lengthy submissions, sometimes resulting in a “kitchen sink” approach in which multiple claims are included regardless of their strength.

She said AI-generated claims could run to hundreds of pages and contain irrelevant or repetitive material, increasing the resources required to process them.

However, Danielle Parsons, an employment partner at Irwin Mitchell, said AI was not the primary cause of tribunal delays, which had “been a challenge for many years and pre-date the widespread use of generative AI”.

She said the system had been “under-resourced for many years” and that claims in some areas may not be heard until 2030 or beyond.

Ms Parsons also said AI could improve access to justice by helping workers who cannot afford professional legal advice, particularly given limited legal aid.

Employment tribunals may be particularly vulnerable to increased AI-generated claims because there is no fee to bring a case and costs are rarely awarded against the losing party.

Ms Bass said upcoming UK employment law reforms, combined with increased use of AI, were likely to put further pressure on the system.