Court room or soap opera? Employment tribunals aren’t as boring as they sound

The increase in numbers of people choosing to represent themselves in disputes may be behind some of the more colourful allegations laid before tribunals. Photograph: Jansos/Alamy

Usually the forum for humdrum disputes over hourly rates and unpaid overtime – employment tribunals are not the first place you’d look for an eye-catching yarn.

But for dedicated followers of the tribunal service’s list, recent weeks have been a purple patch of zingers, with judges settling the kinds of rows that belong more in a soap opera than in civil proceedings.