Back

Our offices will be closed over the Easter weekend from 5:30pm on Thursday 28 March. We will reopen as usual at 9am on Tuesday 2 April.

Get in Touch Menu

Breaking news - employment tribunal fees scrapped

26 July 2017

The Supreme Court has made history today by ruling that fees for bringing an employment tribunal case to court are unlawful. The court found that the fees prevented access to justice for those workers unable to fund their case. It further stated that the fees were contrary to the Equality Act as they disproportionately affected women.

The challenge to the fees system was taken up by UNISON, who argued that the reduction in the number of claims being brought – 79% over three years – clearly went further than the original intention of reducing the number of malicious and weak cases brought. Their legal challenge had failed at both the High Court and Court of Appeal.

The fees will be immediately removed and the government will have to pay back the £32m in fees paid by claimants since July 2013 when the fees were introduced.

As yet no further details have been released about how this is to be achieved, what (if anything) will happen about cases which could have been brought but weren’t, or were settled, because of the cost of tribunal fees, or what might replace the current fees regime.

Matthew leads our employment law team, acting for clients which include multi-national companies, owner-managed businesses and not-for-profit organisations. Clients describe him as “responsive, commercial, understands where employers are coming from and gets right to the point, with meaningful and practical advice.”

We're here to help
Disclaimer: All legal information is correct at the time of publication but please be aware that laws may change over time. This article contains general legal information but should not be relied upon as legal advice. Please seek professional legal advice about your specific situation - contact us; we’d be delighted to help.
Contact
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
View profile
Mathew Clayton
Related services
Share this article
Resources to help

Related articles

Business Immigration: Significant changes to take place in April 2024

Employment & business immigration

Last December, the Home Secretary announced a five-point plan to reduce immigration in the UK, with most measures to be implemented early this year. Today, it can be said that…

Klára Grmelová MGR (LLM Czech)
Solicitor

Constructive dismissal & delayed resignation

Employment & business immigration

Constructive dismissal and delayed resignation can prove to be difficult situations for some employers. Our team of experts look into a case that could help when looking to tackle issues…

Hayley Ainsworth BA, MSc
Associate, solicitor

Embracing neurodiversity at work

Employment & business immigration

We’re supporting Neurodiversity celebration week, which takes place from 18th to 24th March 2024. Here, our employment law team share insight into neurodiversity in the workplace and what employers can…

Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
Contact us