IMPORTANT NEWS
Employment Tribunal Fees
The Supreme Court have ruled in the case of R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor, that Employment Tribunal fees are unlawful.
As such the government and the Employment Tribunal have taken immediate steps to quash the requirement to pay fees to issue claims in the Employment Tribunal or to have a hearing listed in the Employment Tribunal hearing.
There is now no fee to be paid in the Employment Tribunal.
Furthermore, any person who has paid an Employment Tribunal fee since the fee system was introduced in 2013 is entitled to be reimbursed the fee that they have paid.
This is an incredibly important Judgment and has been recognised by leading employment law commentators as one of the most important employment law cases in history and a major constitutional decision.
The key point of the case was that those acting for Unison successfully demonstrated that the introduction of the fees had a detrimental impact on access to justice. This was recognised by a drop of more than 70% in the number of claims presented to the Tribunal following the fees being introduced.
It is not expected that the abolishment of fees will result in a 70% increase in claims as Early Conciliation has had an impact also on reducing the number of Tribunal claims.
The government and Employment Tribunal are commencing a consultation on the future of Tribunal fees. We will update our website with details of the outcome of this when known.
We urge you to see immediate advice from Howells if:
1. You have paid a Tribunal fee and wish to claim a reimbursement – we can advise on how to do this and assist you if necessary
2. You wish to pursue a claim against your employer arising out of anything that has recently occurred, most Employment Tribunal deadlines are 3 months less 1 day from the act that you are complaining of
3. You have been prevented from bringing a claim at any point since 2013 solely because of the Employment Tribunal fees – there may be an argument that you could bring a late claim on the basis that it was not reasonably practicable for you to claim sooner or that it is just and equitable to now permit a late claim.
Howells expert employment law team are here to help.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Howells Employment Team : 0114 249 66 66
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