On 29 January 2024 the Ministry of Justice began a consultation process regarding introducing fees in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Currently, there are no fees to issue claims in the Employment Tribunal or an appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
The proposal is to introduce a £55 issue fee for both the Employment Tribunals claims and any appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Any person who is single, with no children and has less than £4,250 in disposable capital and a gross monthly income of £1,420 or less would be eligible for full remission of their ET or EAT fee.
Fees in the ET and EAT were previously in place from July 2013 to July 2017. The 2013 fee regime categorised ET claims into ‘Type A’ or ‘Type B’ claims with different fees payable dependent on whether the claim was a Type A or Type B claim. Type A claims (which covered simple disputes such as unpaid holiday pay) attracted an issue fee of £160 and a hearing fee of £230, totalling £390 in fees. Type B claims (which covered more complex disputes such as discrimination) attracted an issue fee of £250 and a hearing fee of £950, totalling £1200 in fees. The EAT attracted a £400 issue fee and a £1200 hearing fee, totalling £1600 in fees.
The introduction of fees in 2013 led to a substantial fall in the number of claims brought to the ET. Case volumes fell by 53% in the 12 months after the fee change – from c. 59,000 cases between July 2012 and June 2013 to c. 28,000 cases between July 2013 and June 2014. In the case of R (Unison) v The Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, the Supreme Court quashed the fee regime and decided that fees were unlawful as (a) they were in practice unaffordable, and (b) they rendered pursuing non-monetary and low value claims – which suffered a greater fall in volumes – futile and irrational, which effectively prevented access to justice. Furthermore, the fee structure was found to be indirectly discriminatory against women and individuals with protected characteristics, who were more likely to bring Type B claims and therefore liable to pay the higher fee. Since the fees were quashed, cases have increased, from c. 18,000 in 2016/17 to reaching a total of c. 33,000 in 2022/23.
The proposal to introduce, what is described as a ‘modest’ fee of £55 seeks to address these concerns. The rationale in the proposal is that the fee ‘is intended to relieve some of the cost to the general taxpayer by requiring tribunal users to pay for the tribunal system, where they can afford to do so.’
Introducing fees in the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
James Williams
