Checkmate – navigating mass actions in England and Wales

• 22 July 2026
• News
• Commercial and corporate disputes

While most prevalent in the US, mass actions are indisputably on the rise in England and Wales. From data breaches and equal pay disputes to product liability claims, claimants are increasingly combining forces to pursue alleged wrongdoing on a collective basis.

So, what types of litigation constitute a mass action? And how might a typical mass action unfold in the English courts? Below we demystify how the English legal system facilitates mass actions and the key fundamentals behind the process.

This article forms part of our Checkmate Series – your essential guide to commercial disputes, a collection of practical insights designed to help businesses navigate common dispute scenarios with clarity and confidence. Explore the full guide here.

What constitutes a mass action

“Mass action” is an umbrella term covering litigation where a group of individuals suffers loss in a similar way and seeks redress against the same defendant. These claims are also referred to as “class actions” or “group actions”. Often, the value of any singular claim would not justify the cost of litigation. A collective approach changes that dynamic, with claimants usually benefitting from economies of scale as well as greater leverage.

Unlike in the US, with its defined class action regimes, the English legal system has several avenues for claimants to seek collective redress:

• Representative actions
• Competition law collective proceedings  
• Group Litigation Orders (GLOs)
• Joint and consolidated claims

The scale of a mass action is not only determined by the number of claimants but also whether the claim proceeds on an opt-in or opt-out basis. In opt-out claims, a representative claimant pursues a claim on behalf of other class members who do not need to take any active steps to join the claim. In contrast, opt-in claims require all claimants to take active steps to join the claim. Below we consider mechanisms for opt-out and opt-in proceedings in turn.

Opt-out mechanisms:

Representative actions

A single claimant can bring a claim on behalf of a wider class – without each individual needing to be involved. However, all members represented by the claimant must share the “same interest in a claim”. This requirement has proven difficult to satisfy in many cases. As a result, the practical application of representative actions to bring a mass claim is relatively narrow.

Competition law collective proceedings 

Claimants can bring breach of competition law claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Following the introduction of the opt-out proceedings regime in 2015, the proposed class representative may apply to the CAT for permission for a collective proceedings order to bring a claim on behalf of an entire class of claims. The CAT is the most likely forum for opt-out claims to be brought in England and Wales, but this route is limited to competition law issues.

Opt-in mechanisms:

GLOs

A GLO is a case management order whereby individual claimants issue and retain their own proceedings but the court identifies common issues, which are determined collectively and binding on all claims that are subject to the GLO. Those wishing to participate must actively join a group register set up by the court.

Joint claims and consolidated claims

The courts may group claims together using more informal case management mechanisms. Multiple claimants may be joined together and named on the same claim form where the claims “can be conveniently disposed of in the same proceedings”. Alternatively, the claims can be issued separately and then ordered to be consolidated or tried together by the court. The court has broad case management powers that allow it to consolidate or manage together proceedings brought by different claimants. Where this case management mechanism is used, the court often uses sample or test cases to determine issues which are common across the claims. 

Concluding thoughts and what to remember

Mass actions are becoming an increasingly prominent feature of the litigation landscape in England and Wales, offering claimants a range of routes to pursue collective redress where multiple individuals have suffered similar loss. While the English regime is more fragmented and procedurally nuanced than the US class action model, collective claims can arise across a wide range of sectors, from data breaches and product liability disputes, to competition and employment claims. A key point to remember is the existence of opt-in and opt-out mechanisms in England and Wales – with opt-out proceedings largely confined to competition claims before the CAT, and GLOs, joint claims and consolidated proceedings the most common routes for non-competition related collective litigation.

As claimant firms, litigation funders and claimant groups continue to drive mass actions, defendant companies will inevitably face greater exposure to potentially vast damages claims. For businesses, early identification of potential issues for collective redress will be critical in mitigating both legal exposure and reputational risk.

This insight is one of a series of Checkmate articles exploring the core themes that underpin modern commercial disputes, from post-acquisition claims to shareholder conflicts and directors’ duties.

To access the full guide and build a broader understanding of the risks and strategic considerations across these areas, visit here.