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Tribunal fees
[ch 4: pages 72-73]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, now renamed ‘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.
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 LRD’s companion publication, Law at Work (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1827).
UNISON challenge to tribunal fees
The introduction of fees in July 2013 has caused a dramatic reduction in the number of employment tribunal claims. Since that date, individual claims have fallen by 79 per cent, with sex discrimination claims down by 87 per cent. Public services union UNISON has challenged the lawfulness of the fees in court proceedings for judicial review. The union argues 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.
To date, the claim has not been successful, despite the Court of Appeal describing the case as “troubling” and expressing a “strong suspicion that so large a decline in claims is unlikely to be accounted for entirely by cases of ‘won’t pay’ and it must also reflect at least some cases of ‘can’t pay’”. In February 2016, the Supreme Court granted the union permission to appeal. The Lord Chancellor has agreed to reimburse all fees that have been paid, if they are found to be unlawful.