Employers in the hospitality and leisure sector are facing growing numbers of employment tribunal claims, research has suggested.
The report by law firm Birketts found this is largely being driven by high staff turnover, casual working arrangements, and challenges in managing grievances effectively.
Hospitality sector
Hospitality made up 45% of latest job losses
The report, The Birketts View: Employment Tribunals in the Hospitality and Leisure Sector Impact Report 2025, surveyed 500 HR professionals across England and Wales and found that hospitality and leisure businesses had received an average of 44.53 tribunal claims over the past two years – 12% higher than the average across all sectors.
The most common claims brought were harassment related to a protected characteristic (15%), with significantly fewer claims for ordinary and constructive unfair dismissal because of the prevalence of short-term contracts and seasonal work.
The Employment Rights Bill, which could introduce ‘day one’ rights to claim unfair dismissal, may lead to a surge in claims from employees who previously lacked the required length of service, Birketts has warned.
While hospitality and leisure businesses reported fewer grievances overall (27.62 on average), a higher proportion of these led to tribunal claims, suggesting that internal processes may be failing to resolve issues effectively, it highlighted.
Discrimination was the most common grievance type (24.2%), followed by concerns around pay, workload, and relationships with managers.
On average, hospitality and leisure businesses dealt with 28.9 disciplinary matters in the past 24 months, below the cross-sector average of 36.5. However, the most common disciplinary issue leading to dismissal was also discrimination (17%).
The report found that more than 70% of claims in the sector were settled before reaching a final hearing – higher than the average across all sectors.
However, Acas early conciliation was used in only 10% of cases, suggesting missed opportunities for early resolution.
The most common reasons for settling claims included management time (28%), poor merits, and reputational risk. Hospitality and leisure HR teams spent an average of 4.32 working weeks dealing with tribunal claims over the two-year period.
Catherine Johnson, partner in Birketts’ employment team, said of the findings: “The hospitality and leisure sector is particularly vulnerable to employment claims due to its reliance on casual and seasonal staff. The introduction of ‘day one’ rights under the Employment Rights Bill will likely increase the volume of claims, especially in areas like harassment and discrimination.
“Employers must act now to strengthen their internal processes, provide robust training to line managers, and ensure grievances are handled effectively. Failure to do so could result in costly and time-consuming tribunal proceedings,” Johnson added.
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