Government announces review of its employment tribunal fees

The government has announced a review of employment tribunal fees.

When tribunal fees were introduced in 2013, the government made a commitment to review the effectiveness, to ensure that the fees did not act as a barrier to justice in the workplace.

The fees were introduced as a way of deterring employees from bringing weak / nuisance claims against their employers, thus reducing the impact these claims have on businesses. However, since the fees were introduced, the number of cases being taken to tribunals has more than halved, with sex discrimination claims falling by 85%. Over 400 barriers signed an open letter to the previous Justice Secretary in March, branding the fees a ‘barrier to justice’.

It is worth noting that this announcement comes just a few weeks before Unison’s judicial review on tribunal fees.

We will be reporting on the outcome of this review, and on the Unison challenge.