Employment tribunal fees to be repaid to claimants and employers

Starting from Monday 20th November 2017, Employment tribunal fees charged between July 2013 and July 2017 are to be repaid to claimants and employers, subject to applications for refunds. According to People Management, the official magazine of the CIPD, the refund scheme is now open and applications are being processed.

The decision, which is an important step in modern history, was made after the Supreme Court found that the employment tribunal fee regime was unlawful by obstructing access to justice.

The fee may be charged again in the future, but tribunals need to be ensured that they remain accessible, People Management shows.

Daniel Barnett says: “I’m hearing of increases of between 50 per cent and 100 per cent in different regions“. He adds that “The number of claims will never get back to the pre-2013 level, because there were three factors that reduced the number of claims. “First, the introduction of fees. Second, the increase in the unfair dismissal qualifying period from one year to two. Third, the introduction of mandatory Acas Early Conciliation. All three combined to reduce the number of claims, although fees had by far the biggest impact“.

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News 21 Nov, 2017