Employment Tribunal decisions In Jersey And Guernsey: Key themes From 2025

• Published date: 09 January 2026
• Law Firm: Walkers
• Author: Ms Sarah Ash, Daniel Read, Danielle Brouard and Jo Powis

Last year, 64 decisions were published in Jersey and 8 in Guernsey, offering valuable insights for employers and HR professionals. Several trends have emerged that merit attention.

Consistency across the islands

Both jurisdictions have shown a clear commitment to procedural rigour and evidential clarity. Three areas of alignment stand out.

Strict approach to time limits

Guernsey's decisions in Dodd and Gibson confirm that the Tribunal will rarely extend time limits, even though Guernsey legislation now provides the Tribunal with a broad discretion to extend time limits. The approach in Guernsey contrasts sharply with the more flexible approach often taken by the UK Tribunals, who have proven much more willing to extend time based on the same legislative test.

The Jersey Employment Tribunal also continues to take a restrictive stance to extending time limits consistent with there being no general discretion for the Tribunal to extend time limits in Jersey.

The result is that in both Guernsey and Jersey employees and employers are expected to act promptly and make reasonable enquiries as to their legal rights and applicable time limits, even when suffering from ill-health.

Strike-outs for weak or legally defective claims

Both Tribunals struck out claims last year, often on jurisdictional grounds such as time limits, employment status or length of service. In Guernsey, over two thirds of the reported...