Abolition of employment tribunal fees




Undoubtedly, the most important employment law ruling of 2017 was public service union UNISON’s successful challenge to tribunal fees, in a landmark Supreme Court ruling, UNISON v The Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51. The entire employment tribunal fee regime was abolished with immediate effect on 26 July 2017.


Under that regime, claimants had 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. 


The wider significance of this victory is looked at in Chapter 1. However, the ruling also has administrative implications for three specific categories of claim: individuals owed a refund of their fees by the government; individuals whose claims were struck out for non-payment of the fee; and individuals who were unable to settle their claim through Acas EC but who did not go on to issue a tribunal claim because they could not afford the fee.


The government has set up the Employment Tribunal Fee Refund Scheme. Information on how to apply is available at: www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals/refund-tribunal-fees. 


HMCTS has also written to approximately 7,500 claimants whose claims were struck out for non-payment of an issue or hearing fee, 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.


This leaves between 3,000 to 8,000 individuals who had valid claims which they abandoned because they could not afford to pay a fee. For these claimants, normal principles of employment law will be applied. Specifically, this means that an employment tribunal will need to decide whether to exercise discretion to allow claims to proceed even though the claim deadline has been missed.