On 29 July
2013 fees were introduced in respect of any claim subsequently lodged with an
Employment Tribunal (ET) or the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). An employee
does have the opportunity to apply for remission of the fees if they fulfil
certain criteria.
A challenge
was however promptly made by Unison that the introduction of both ET and EAT
fees, was unlawful.
Unison’s
judicial review challenge was rejected earlier this month by the High Court who
felt that the review was bought prematurely and as a consequence, there was not
enough evidence available to overturn the fees regime.
The High
Court stated that they did not see a problem with Unison applying for a further
review in the future. This review may be in relation to the implementation of
fees generally or it may be specifically concerning the type of fees and the
level of fee payable in respect of a claim.
Unison has
since indicated that they are appealing to the Court of Appeal.
For the time
being it appears that the ET and the EAT fees are here to stay but should
Unison’s challenge to the Court of Appeal be successful, the regime may be
withdrawn.
Notably the Senior President of the Tribunals’
Annual Report published in February 2014 confirmed that since the introduction
of fees the number of EAT claims has fallen by one third.
Kayleigh Leonie