Employment Tribunal Fee Refunds Scheme Launched - Can You Recover Your Fees?
Following the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court in R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor and the subsequent pledge from Ministers to refund those who had paid employment tribunal fees, the Government announced last week...
...that the first stage of the refund scheme has begun.
Will Employers Be Able to Recover Fees Paid to Individual Claimants?
The answer is yes if the employer was ordered to pay the claimant's fee. Fees will not be recoverable if the employer paid them under a private settlement agreement. More information is provided below.
The First Stage
This stage will be implemented for up to four weeks from 20 October 2017.
The Ministry of Justice is writing to a group of up to 1000 people inviting them to take part in the scheme, all of whom paid fees in relation to proceedings in the Employment Tribunal. All of those contacted will have the opportunity to complete applications for refunds before the opening of the full scheme in November.
The government has confirmed that, if successful, applicants will be entitled to interest of 0.5% calculated from the date of the original payment up until the refund date.
What Next?
The purpose of the first stage is to ensure that the scheme runs effectively. After that it will be rolled out to all eligible individuals in November.
Those who have paid tribunal fees, but who have not yet been invited to take part in the initial phase are invited by the Government to register their interest in applying for a refund under a pre-registration scheme.
Who Is Eligible Under the Refund Scheme?
- People who paid a fee directly to the Employment Tribunal or Employment Appeal Tribunal, and have not been reimbursed by their opponent pursuant to an order of the tribunal.
- People who were ordered by the tribunal to reimburse their opponent their fee and who can show that they have paid it.
- Representatives (such as a trade union) who paid a fee on behalf of another person and have not been reimbursed by that person.
- The lead claimant (or representative) in a multiple claim who paid a fee on behalf of the other claimants.
Refund Process
Applicants will be asked to complete an application form and this will be processed by the government and verified against the ET's records.
In the case of employers who reimbursed fees to their opponent following a Tribunal Order, they will need to provide a copy of the Order and proof of payment to their employee (such as a bank statement).
What About Private Settlement?
Those who have reimbursed their opponent's tribunal fees under a private settlement agreement will not be able to claim a refund. However, surprisingly, Justice Minister Dominic Raab stated in parliament in the last week that the person who had paid the fee to the tribunal would still be eligible for a refund in these circumstances.