Employment Tribunal Fees - Abolished!

Last month, the Supreme Court abolished employment tribunal fees. Fees were introduced 4 years ago and have proved controversial from the outset. Despite a remission scheme for individuals with limited means, the fees were set at such a level that it clearly deterred genuine claims being brought. Since their introduction, there has been a 66-70% reduction in claims.

The apparent intention behind introducing the fees was not to reduce the number of claims per se but to discourage vexatious or unmeritorious claims and to put the cost of the tribunal service in the hands of those who used it. Undoubtedly, however, the fee regime did discourage claims particularly those with a relatively small value or which would have been brought to assert or uphold a statutory right rather than for compensation. Even claimants with claims worth a moderate amount will have been discouraged if they didn’t meet the requirements for remission. What does it mean? For now, fees are gone.

Tribunals immediately stopped taking them and the government now has to sort out how to refund claimants who did have to pay. There is also the potential for employees and former employees to argue they should now be able to pursue claims they were unable to bring because of fees, despite the claims being out of time (most claims have to be brought within 3 months of the act giving rise to the claim). Tribunals will have to decide if the fee regime meant it was not reasonably practicable for an unfair dismissal claim to be brought in time whilst the fees regime applied or whether it would be just and equitable to allow an out-of-time discrimination claim to proceed. There is now also an increased likelihood of an individual bringing a claim. Employers will need to ensure that they act fairly when dealing with their employees and, if necessary, that they take advice on difficult employment issues.