Abolition of employment tribunal fees





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



Under the tribunal fee regime, introduced in 2013, claimants had been required to pay substantial fees to bring a tribunal 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. (In November 2018, the current government indicated that it intends to reintroduce “proportionate” fees with a “rebate” for those who cannot afford to pay.)

To administer the refunds, the government set up the Employment Tribunal Fee Refund Scheme: www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals/refund-tribunal-fees. The Ministry of Justice claims to have written to everyone owed a refund and to have refunded around £23 million of fees by the end of September 2018.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has also written to approximately 7,500 claimants whose claims were struck out for non-payment of fees asking whether they want their claim reinstated. A similar process has been followed for EAT appeals, of which around 90% have opted to continue with their appeal.



Left out of the equation were the 3,000 to 8,000 individuals (according to a Ministry of Justice report) who had valid tribunal claims for breach of their employment rights which they abandoned because they could not afford to pay a fee (see page 366 for extensions of time linked to non-payment of fees).