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Tribunal fees
[ch 4: pages 74-75]Since July 2013, all claims in the employment tribunal carry fees which are paid by claimants only — not employers. The fees are substantial. For example, a claim by a safety rep for failure to pay for or allow time off for training has a £160 fee for issuing the claim and a further £230 hearing fee. An unfair dismissal claim attracts an even higher fee — £250 to issue the claim, followed by a further £950 for a hearing. There are more fees, for example if the claim is appealed.
There is a fee remission scheme (i.e. full or partial financial assistance) in place, called Help with Fees, but it is not generous. It is based on an assessment of household (not individual) income and capital and the thresholds are very low. During the first three months of the fees regime, just 180 tribunal claimants out of 4,500 individual claims received a full or partial fee remission.
UNISON challenge to tribunal fees
The introduction of fees in July 2013 has caused a dramatic reduction in the number of employment tribunal claims. The government’s long-awaited review of the impact of fees published in January 2017 showed a 70% drop in the number of cases taken to employment tribunals over the past three and a half years. Public services union UNISON challenged the lawfulness of the fees arguing that the fee regime breaches EU laws prohibiting discrimination, by making it exceptionally difficult for claimants to exercise their equality rights, and by discriminating, in particular, against women, disabled and ethnic minority workers. The union’s appeal to the Supreme Court was heard in March 2017 and the outcome is expected in late 2017.
Many trade unions have made arrangements to loan their members the tribunal fee as long as qualifying conditions have been met – for example that the claim is strong enough. Even if trade union assistance is available, members should always apply for fee remission.
There is more detailed information about tribunal fees and remission in Labour Research Department’s companion publication, Law at Work (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1873).