Alicante’s social courts are already scheduling trials for 2030

The social courts in the judicial district of Alicante are scheduling some trials for late 2029 and January 2030, according to a complaint by UGT. The delays affect cases involving dismissals, wages, Social Security benefits and other employment disputes, the outcome of which can have direct consequences for workers and businesses.

The union’s Public Services Federation puts the backlog across these seven court units at 6,762 cases. It expects the figure to reach 9,016 by the end of 2026, or around 1,288 cases per court. UGT compares this estimate with the 8,896 cases recorded in 2025.

As a benchmark, the union says the workload target set by the General Council of the Judiciary is 800 cases per year for each unit. According to the union’s calculations, the projection for 2026 would exceed that level by around 61%.

UGT has raised its concerns with the Conselleria de Justicia and is calling for a plan to bring trial dates forward. Its proposals include bringing in court staff for management, case processing and judicial assistance, reviewing staffing levels and improving working conditions. The union says at least two support judges have been announced and is calling for the measure to be accompanied by staff to process cases, serve notifications and enforce judgments.

The workload has been a concern for some time. In June 2024, the Official College of Social Graduates of Alicante warned the acting president of the General Council of the Judiciary that the city’s seven courts could each handle more than 1,400 cases that year. At the time, trials over dismissals were being scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, while other cases were being set for the final quarter.

In that communication, the College linked some of the constraints to the shared use of courtrooms and proposed creating new courts or additional units with judges and case-processing staff. The situation highlighted in the complaint also affects Elche: UGT has warned that trials there are being scheduled for late 2029 and early 2030.

For people facing an employment dispute in Alicante, these dates mean lengthy waits before their case comes to trial. The union’s complaint focuses attention on the courts’ capacity to deal with claims and on the staff needed to ensure that additional judges can lead to faster case processing.

Article produced by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.