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Thu 31 May 2012
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Government unveils employment tribunal reforms
Thu 15 Dec 2011
Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has published details of the government's plan to introduce fees for employment tribunals.
He said the current system, in which taxpayers foot the annual bill of £84 million for running the tribunals, is "not sustainable" and can encourage unnecessary claims.
Sue Kelly, an employment partner at Winckworth Sherwood, commented, “An interesting comparison is that 80 per cent of non-criminal court business in England and Wales is currently funded by court fees, and only the balance by the taxpayer. However, an important distinction is that successful parties in court normally recover their costs and there are far more high value claims passing through the courts.
"It remains to be seen whether the proposed fee waivers will be sufficient to allow access to justice for those many litigants in the Employment Tribunal who have valid, but relatively small claims.”
To find an alternative, the government has proposed two options for a consultation period that will run until March 2012.
The first is an initial fee of between £150 and £250, with an additional charge of between £250 and £1,250 if the claim goes to a hearing and no limit placed on the maximum award. The second option is a fee of £200 to £600, which could increase to £1,750 for people seeking awards over £30,000.
Mr Djanogly suggested people should be asked to contribute a "fair amount" towards the cost of their case, although fee waivers will be offered where necessary to people on low incomes.
A total of 218,100 claims were made to employment tribunals in 2010-11, according to official figures.
The government has said its overhaul of tribunals is expected to deliver roughly £40 million a year in benefits to employers.
