Consultation on employment tribunal fees

The Government has opened a consultation on a proposal to re-introduce fees for making Employment Tribunal claims. Fees were originally introduced in 2013, but repealed following a successful judicial review action as they were considered to be a barrier to justice.

The new proposals are different to the previous regime in that:

• The fee is proposed to be £55 for any claim to the ET or appeal to the EAT (the previous fee was £250)
• There will be no separate fee for a hearing

There would be a remission scheme in place for those who cannot afford the fee. The results of the consultation and any timing around implementation of fees are awaited with interest. The fees introduced in 2013 had a dramatic impact on the number of claims made in the Employment Tribunal, but this proposed fee is much lower and may not have such an impact.

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If you have any queries you would like to discuss regarding consultation on employment tribunal fees, please contact Rena Magdani or Matt McBride.

Read the other recent Employment articles:

• Settling future claims as whistleblowers
• Job applicants not protected as whistleblowers
• Codes of Practice and Guidance