Tribunal fees

All claims in the employment tribunal now carry a mandatory fee. A few low-paid claimants will qualify for fee remission (i.e. full or partial reduction of the fee — see page 412). There is an issue fee when the claim is presented and a hearing fee, which must be paid shortly before the main hearing. Only the claimant pays these fees — not the employer.

There are also fees for any appeal.

It is not currently possible to apply for fee remission online. Instead, an online claimant who wants to apply for remission must complete their online ET1 Claim Form, ticking the box on the Form to confirm that they intend to apply for fee remission. They must then send a completed remission application form, with supporting evidence of means, separately by post (see page 412). The EAT has ruled that an online tribunal claim will be valid as long as a claimant ticks the remission box on Form ET1, submits the claim online before the claim deadline date and then sends their remission form and supporting evidence of means by post in time to reach the tribunal within seven days (Deangate Ltd v Hatley & Others (secretary of State intervening) [2015] UKEAT/0389/14/DM). If a completed remission form does not reach the tribunal offices within seven days, it will be rejected. For information on how to apply for remission and where to send the application form, see page 412.

A tribunal claim submitted by the tribunal deadline date for the claim will still be in time, even though it is not processed by the tribunal until after that deadline has passed, and even if a claimant is later found not to qualify for remission.

Where a claim is rejected because of a failure to pay the correct fee or to make a valid application for remission, time will continue to run. Any new claim must be submitted inside the original time limit or else it will be out of time. It will be dismissed if no extension of time is granted.

No claims are exempt from tribunal fees, even those that are equal to, or less than, the value of the fee. There are no refunds, even if a case settles immediately.

The fee can be paid online when making a tribunal claim online to the following address: www.employmenttribunals.service.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-payment. The claimant will need a payment reference, supplied by the Employment Tribunal or Employment Appeal Tribunal Office.

Alternatively, tribunal fees can be paid by cheque or postal order payable to HM Courts & Tribunals Service and posted, together with Claim Form ET1 (see below), to the Employment Tribunal Central Office (or in Scotland, to the Employment Tribunal Central Office Scotland). Fees cannot be paid in cash.

There are two levels of claim when calculating tribunal fees, called Type A claims and Type B claims.

Type A Claims: these include claims for unauthorised deduction from wages, notice pay, redundancy pay, written pay statement, holiday pay, paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments or to exercise the statutory right to be accompanied. These claims have an issue fee of £160 and a hearing fee of £230 (2015).

Type B Claims: these include claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination and whistleblowing and have an issue fee of £250 and a hearing fee of £950 (2015).

Where a Claim Form includes two types of claim, for example, a claim for unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction of wages, only one fee, at the higher level, must be paid.

Where there is more than one respondent, for example a discrimination claim against an employer and a co-worker, only one fee must be paid.

There are special rules for multiple claims:

• between 2-10 claimants, the fee is two times the fee for single claims;

• for 11-200 claims, the fee is four times the fee for single claims; and

• for 201+ claimants, the fee is six times the fee for single claims.

There is also a fee for Judicial Mediation: £600 (2015) paid by the employer.