We advised several months ago that it was proposed that a system of fees would be introduced into the Employment Tribunal. This proposal has now been laid before Parliament in a draft statutory instrument and is intended to come into effect from the end of July 2013.

An individual wishing to bring a claim against an employer or former employer will be required to pay an issue fee when the claim is submitted to the Tribunal and a hearing fee between four and six weeks before the full Tribunal hearing. It is to be hoped that these fees will reduce the number of claims made that are malicious or have little or no prospects of success, although as commentators have mentioned there is also the risk that the genuinely aggrieved will no longer be able to afford to seek justice.

In our view, it is likely that parties will be encouraged to consider settlement discussions well in advance of the Tribunal hearing in order to avoid the hearing fee. At present, settlement discussions sometimes do not take place until the day of the hearing with the result that the Tribunal’s time (and tax payer’s money) is lost.

The amount of fees to be paid will depend on the type of claim. The various types of claims have been broadly split into two categories and the fees payable are as follows:-

Issue Fee Hearing Fee

Type A Claims – these will include claims for breach of contract, unpaid wages, holiday pay, redundancy pay, and some working time rights.

£160.00
£230.00

Type B Claims – these will include claims for unfair dismissal, unlawful detriment, and discrimination.

£250.00
£950.00

There will be a different fee structure for multiple claimant cases and additional fees for specific applications. For example:
• if an employer fails to respond to a claim in time and is subject to a default judgment, they will be charged a fee of £100 for an application to review and overturn that default judgment; or
• if settlement of the claim is achieved and the claim is withdrawn, the employer will be charged a fee of £60 to apply for the claim against them to be dismissed.

Claimants who are able to establish that they are unable to pay the fees will not be charged and Judges will have the power to order the unsuccessful party to reimburse any fees paid by the successful party, however, this power will be exercised at the Employment Judge’s discretion rather than automatically.

The sanction for non-payment of the fees will be that the claim will not be allowed to commence or continue in the Employment Tribunal. However, it is not clear at this stage whether this means that the claim will be dismissed or simply stayed pending payment of the fees.

For more information on this subject or any other queries about employment law, please contact Kate Booth on 01484 821309 or at katebooth@eatonsmith.co.uk
Posted Wednesday 10th of July 2013