Employment Advice and Representation in the Employment Tribunal for Employers

Since the ending of fees for Employment Tribunal claims there has seen a dramatic increase in the number of claims.

As a result employers need to take greater care to avoid litigation.

Single claims lodged at employment tribunals increased by a remarkable 90 per cent between October to December 2017 compared to the same quarter in 2016, according to new Ministry of Justice latest statistics published on 8 March.

The increase is a direct result of the Supreme Court judgment in July 2017 that overruled the government’s fee system. The increase in claims saw a 64 per cent overall rise in new claims brought after fees were first abolished. The ruling found that the introduction of fees by the government was unlawful and discriminatory against women who were more statistically likely to have short term employment and therefore have to pay the required fees.

However, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that it may seek to reintroduce fees for employment tribunal claims. It is, apparently, confident that a “progressive” fees regime can be found that will not deny access to justice but will help to fund the court system. Whilst we are unaware of immediate plans to reintroduce fees, it does appear unlikely that the current position of no fees will be maintained. Any new fees regime must be different than the previous fees regime and will potentially be payable at a lower level and/or fees payable by employers.