Employment Tribunal Fees - Why They Are Here to Stay
The government has published its long awaited review on the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees and concluded that...
... although there are some areas of concern, as a whole the fee system has met its objectives and will not be repealed.
Since the introduction of fees in the employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in 2013, there has been much controversy over whether the fees are affecting access to justice.
On 31 January, the government published its review of the introduction of fees. This review was initially meant to be published in the summer of 2014.
Although the report acknowledges that there has been a significantly greater fall in claims than expected (a 70% drop), the government does not accept that the introduction of fees has affected access to justice. It has concluded instead, that although people may have been discouraged from bringing claims, there is no conclusive evidence that they have been prevented from doing so as a result of the introduction of fees.
The government did, however, acknowledge that there are some areas of concern as follows:
- Help with fees The government has launched a consultation on whether the fee remission scheme (whereby fees are waived for those on low incomes) should be made easier to use with the lower gross monthly income threshold raised. The Government's proposals, if implemented, would set the gross monthly income threshold for a fee remission at broadly the level of someone earning the National Living Wage.
- National Insurance Fund The government has confirmed that proceedings relating to payments from the National Insurance Fund, i.e. involving insolvent employers where conciliation is not a realistic option, should be exempt from the fee regime.
The government's review will not result in the removal of the fee system, just the way that it operates. It will be interesting to hear whether this position will be affected by the outcome of UNISON's judicial challenge to the fee system which is due to be heard by the Supreme Court on 27 and 28 March.
For further information please contact Michael Halsey in our Employment Law team on 020 7665 0842.