The government is proposing to reintroduce fees for employment tribunal claims, nearly seven years after the Supreme Court quashed the previous charging regime as unlawful.
Introducing a consultation today, justice minister Mike Freer MP said new charges would ‘ensure users are paying towards the running costs of the tribunals, and put [their] users on broadly the same footing as users of other courts and tribunals who already pay fees’. But trade unions reacted angrily, accusing the government of seeking to allow ‘bad bosses’ to ‘ride roughshod over staff’ by making it harder for workers to seek redress for discrimination, unfair dismissal and withheld wages.
Tribunal fees were introduced in 2013 by the coalition government, under a fees order made by then lord chancellor Chris Grayling. Straightforward disputes attracted issue and hearing fees totalling £390, while for more complicated matters the charges totalled £1,200. The Employment Appeal Tribunal attracted total fees of £1,600.
The fees were withdrawn in July 2017, after trade union Unison successfully argued before the Supreme Court that they prevented thousands of employees, particularly people on low incomes, from securing justice. The Law Society described the court’s ruling as ‘an urgently needed wake-up call’, adding that ‘justice must never be a luxury for those who can afford it’.
The Ministry of Justice claims to have learned lessons from the 2017 judgment. It admits the former charges ‘did not strike the right balance’ between claimants paying toward tribunal costs and protecting access to justice.
The fees proposed in today’s consultation are certainly modest in comparison. A £55 issue fee would be payable on bringing a claim to the tribunal, which would remain at £55 where a claim is brought by multiple claimants. Each judgment, direction, decision or order appealed to the EAT would attract a £55 fee. No hearing fees are planned.
Help with fees would be given to those ‘most in need’.
Based on 2022/23 volumes, the proposed fees are expected to generate £1.3m-£1.7m a year towards the £80m annual cost of the employment tribunals.
The MoJ denies the new fees are intended to dampen demand. However, trade unions stressed that employment tribunal claims fell by two thirds after charges were introduced in 2013. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said today: ‘This is another example of ministers taking the side of bad bosses, not working people. Now, the government wants to make it even harder for working people to seek justice if they face discrimination, unfair dismissal or withheld wages.
‘When P&O Ferries flouted employment law by sacking 800 workers without notice, they did almost nothing about it. All working people should be able to enforce their rights. But introducing fees for tribunals puts yet another hurdle in the way of those seeking justice at their most vulnerable moment.’
