Supreme Court rules Tribunal fees unlawful
In one of the most important employment law cases of recent years the Supreme Court has ruled that the Tribunal fees introduced by the Government in 2013 are unlawful under both UK and EU law. Since the introduction of Tribunal fees the number of cases brought before an Employment Judge declined by almost 80 per cent.
The fees were found to be unlawful on several grounds, including the following.
- Access to justice was being prevented as the level of fees were not reasonably affordable
- The fees imposed a disproportionate limit on the ability to enforce employment rights guaranteed by the EU
- Most of the claimants affected by the more expensive fees were women, and therefore the regime constituted indirect discrimination
The case was brought by the trade union Unison and was decided in their favour unanimously.
The Tribunals Service has indicated that no further fees will be payable with immediate effect and that further announcements will follow about reimbursing those people who have already paid.
http://www.uktraining.eu/news-article/supreme-court-rules-tribunal-fees-unlawful/56