Abolition of employment tribunal fees

Employment tribunal (ET) fees were abolished in a landmark Supreme Court challenge by public services union UNISON (UNISON v The Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51). The entire ET fee regime was abolished with immediate effect on 26 July 2017 and the government became immediately liable to refund all fees paid.

The ET fee regime, introduced in 2013, required claimants to pay substantial fees to bring an ET claim, for example, £1,200 for a discrimination claim, with extra fees for any appeals. As a result of UNISON’s challenge, there are currently no fees for bringing a claim in the employment tribunal.

However, there are unwelcome rumours that the government plans to reinstate fees in some form (see Chapter 1).

To administer ET fee refunds, the government set up the Employment Tribunal Fee Refund Scheme. This fee refund scheme continues to operate.