Surging sickness, soaring grievances and HR burnout: What’s breaking UK workplaces?

Across the UK, HR teams are overwhelmed by a 30%+ surge in employee relations (ER) cases. Tribunal claims and backlogs are growing, sickness absence is spiking, and burnout is rising rapidly.

A recent ACAS report also reveals a significant rise in unfair dismissal claims this year, now the most frequent and high-volume ER issue. This trend isn’t surprising, given the growing awareness of employee rights driven by the Employment Rights Bill.

Despite this growing pressure, many HR teams are expected to do more with less, often while still relying on legacy HR systems. Nearly 40% of organisations haven’t modernised their core HR tech stack according to HR News.

So, what’s driving this storm?

Compliance pressure is rising

A key contributor is the increasing complexity of compliance requirements, with line managers who are often undertrained and unsupported in managing them. This lack of preparedness means early warning signs are frequently missed.

Leadership teams also face their own mounting pressures, including leaner budgets, smaller teams and inadequate tools, creating a perfect storm for burnout and escalating ER issues.

This is driving a sharp rise in grievance cases, costly legal disputes, and damaging workplace culture. It’s vital to explore smarter strategies that reduce the pressure on HR and equip managers to act proactively, before issues escalate.

The grievance and tribunal spike

The data backs up what many already feel on the ground. Government data and recent HR news shows that:

• Tribunal claim receipts jumped 19% year-over-year in Q1 2024–25 alone;
• Open tribunal cases rose by 18%;
• Google searches for “sickness absence” spiked by 113% in July 2025.

🔍 HR Grapevine also shared that 60% of organisations still haven’t fully trained managers on preventing workplace harassment. It’s no surprise there are more grievances and increased compliance risk.

These aren’t isolated stats, they signal structural strain.

Bunking off or burning out? HR’s Bradford Score tells the story

Could the recent spike in interest in “sickness absence” searches simply be people bunking off to enjoy the sunshine, or does it signal a deeper burnout issue that needs to be addressed urgently?

According to People Management magazine, HR teams themselves are showing signs of stress, with an average Bradford Factor Score of 113, indicative of more frequent absences. Shifting proactive sickness absence management responsibilities to line managers, with the right tools and training, can transform outcomes.

When managers can act early, ER cases are less likely to escalate, and the pressure on HR eases. In fact, proactive management can reduce absence rates by up to 10% and tribunal claims by as much as 50%.

Outsourced HR support: Expand capacity

Even with upskilled line managers, many HR teams could still benefit from help tackling backlogs and the increasing complexity of today’s ER landscape.

The Employment Rights Bill adds to the challenge as it is expected to have a significant impact on workload – our analysis predicts a potential increase  in probation-related tasks by up to 230%.

👉 Download a free ERB tracker to get ahead of major changes coming with the Employment Rights Bill. It helps you quickly assess where to update policies, employment contracts and processes to stay compliant and reduce risk.

External ER support services can help bridge short-term gaps or ease longer-term pressures. Whether it’s managing complex cases or providing real-time guidance to line managers, these services can:

• Reduce the pressure on internal HR teams;
• Empower managers to accelerate ER case resolution times;
• Minimise legal and cultural risks and costly tribunals;
• Help HR stay focused on value-added, strategic goals.

Flexible, expert help for your managers can keep your organisation compliant, strong and ready for the future.

Boost manager capability with data

Organisations that enable managers with the right insights are already seeing significant results. One global organisation reduced absence rates by 10% in just 12 months by leveraging early intervention data and training managers to respond proactively.

They did this by leveraging data in HR teams and empowering managers with actionable insights to reduce issues escalating to HR. When HR teams have the data-driven insights at their fingertips to easily monitor, flag, and act, they can:

• Identify burnout risks before they peak;
• Target support where it’s most needed;
• Proactively reduce grievances and tribunals before they arise.

Our empower® employee relations case management system speeds up this change. It provides quick insights into ER case trends, which gives HR actionable insights to create a culture of well-being, accountability and action among managers.

Five steps to rebuild workplace resilience

To break the reactive cycle, improve employee experiences and reduce HR burnout, organisations must prioritise proactive prevention and empowerment. Here’s how:

1. Equip managers to act early and confidently;
2. Embed wellbeing as a core business priority;
3. Upskill line managers to self-serve ER cases and legal tasks;
4. Adopt intelligent HR tech that flags risk early;
5. Build a flexible, future-ready people strategy.

This builds a more resilient people function that delivers better outcomes for everyone. Get in touch to speak to an expert to explore how we can help.