Employment Law | As the Government mulls reintroducing tribunal fees, how will the plans impact HR?

The Government has launched a consultation to seek views on whether to reinstate a fee for people to bring an Employment Tribunal claim. There is currently no charge; following heavy criticism from unions, the previous fee was abolished after the Supreme Court found it was unlawful.

Now, with a lengthy backlog of claims waiting to be heard, the government is considering whether to bring in a £55 charge. A period of consultation is now open for people to submit their comments.

In a statement on the UK Government website, Mike Freer, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, explained that this consultation over introducing modest fees in the for employment tribunals “will ensure users are paying towards the running costs of the tribunals and put its users on broadly the same footing as users of other court and tribunals who already pay fees, thereby ensuring cross-jurisdictional consistency.”

He added that “it is appropriate that some of the costs of running the ET and EAT should be recouped from those who use the system, and who can afford to do so.”