Judges Barry Clarke and Susan Walker, in the minutes of a meeting that took place in March, noted “the shared view of judges was that 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.”

Once such example was a more than hundred-fold increase in applications for interim relief, where an employer can be ordered to reinstate an employee or pay their wages, where at one time there had been 20 applications a year most offices are now receiving around 20 applications a month.

Jessica Bass, a partner at Oury Clark told the Times that the use of AI a “can encourage a ‘kitchen sink’ approach, where every conceivable claim is included regardless of its strength or relevance.” The Economist, for example, reported that an NHS employee prepared a grievance with AI assistant Grok that ran to some 282 pages and 67 grievances.

Clarke and Walker noted that impact that this is having on the tribunal system: “Because complex cases take longer to manage to a hearing, they extend waiting times nationally. Because the hearings last longer, they reduce the rate at which the system can dispose of them.”

These comments come as the annual report of Ireland’s Labour Court noted a similar pattern with cases becoming more legally complex and requiring more sitting days.