Income threshold

Claimants who are not receiving passported benefits must meet a gross monthly household income test. The threshold varies depending on whether someone is single and/or has dependent children. For example, to qualify for full remission, a childless couple must earn less than £1,245 gross per month (for a single person with no children, the amount is £1,085 (2015)).

Acceptable evidence of income includes:

• three months of bank statements and those of any partner. These can be photocopies or printed online bank statements;

• a month’s wage slips, not more than six weeks old. Again, copies are acceptable;

• if a claimant is self-employed, a copy of their most recent tax return.

Potential claimants should check HMCTS guidance (Form EX160A, Court and Tribunal Fees — do I have to pay them?), available from the HMCTS website (http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160a-eng.pdf), as soon as possible for the full list of acceptable documents. If a piece of information is missing, HMCTS is supposed to try to make contact with a prospective claimant rather than reject the claim.

The Citizens’ Advice Bureau website has good guidance on working out whether you are likely to qualify for remission (https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/problems-at-work/employment-tribunals-from-29-july-2013/what-will-it-cost-to-make-a-claim-to-an-employment-tribunal/employment-tribunals-do-you-qualify-for-help-with-paying-the-tribunal-fees).

Applying online for fee remission is not possible. Instead, Form EX160A must be printed off, completed and posted with the correct supporting evidence, to the Employment Tribunal Central Office to arrive within seven days (see page 411).

If a remission request is unsuccessful, there is a two-stage appeal process, first to the “Delivery Manager” within 14 days of the refusal letter and second to the ”Operational Manager” whose decision is final.

Claimants can apply for a refund if they have paid their fee and it later turns out that they qualified for remission after all, but only if they apply within three months. The right to a refund is based on income and capital at the date the fee was paid, and takes no account of later changes in your financial situation.

A successful party can generally expect to recover their fee from the other side, but the EAT has a broad discretion to decide whether to order payment and can take into account, for example, the other party’s means (Horizon Security Services Limited v Ndeze [2014] UKEAT 0071/14/1806, Old v Palace Fields Primary Academy [2014] UKEAT 0085/14/17100). There are worrying rulings emerging, for example:

Many trade unions have made arrangements to loan the tribunal fee to members provided conditions are met, for example as to the strength of the claim, to be repaid if the claim succeeds. Members who qualify should always apply for remission regardless of any arrangements put in place by their union.

For some wage claims, workers may now be better off bringing a contract claim in the small claims court rather than a claim for unlawful deduction of wages in the employment tribunal (see Chapter 4). This is because the fees charged by the small claims court are significantly lower than employment tribunal fees. You can find out more about fees in the small claims court on the GOV.UK website: Make a court claim for money (https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview).

Note, however, that in the civil courts, the approach to fees is also changing and becoming more expensive. From 9 March 2015, all civil court money claims valued at more than £10,000 are charged a fee set at 5% of the sum claimed.