Have a question? Call us on 0800 1979 345
This article was published on July 26th, 2017
The highest court in the United Kingdom has today delivered a landmark Judgment that employment tribunal fees are unlawful.
In a spectacular decision, the Supreme Court held that fees of up to £1,200 were hindering workers, particularly those earning a lower wage, from getting the justice they deserve.
The Ministry of Justice has said it would take “immediate steps to stop charging fees in employment tribunals and put in place arrangements to refund those who have paid”.
The decision was made after the Supreme Court deemed that the fees were denying people access to justice, which as a consequence had brought about a decrease in the number of tribunal claims being brought.
Another mitigating rationale behind the Court’s decision is that the current fees were disproportionately affecting women, and thus breaching the Equality Act 2010.
Dave Prentis the General Secretary of Unison, the trade union who brought the action said that: “Today was a major victory for employees” and that “unscrupulous employers no longer have the upper hand”.
Mr Prentis further praised the decision, adding that: “the Government is not above the law, but when ministers introduced fees they were disregarding laws many centuries old, and showing little concern for employees seeking justice following illegal treatment at work.”
Unison estimate that the Government may have to refund as much as £27 million to people who have made a claim to a tribunal since fees were introduced in 2013.
The fees started at £160 for issuing a claim such as for unpaid wages, with a further fee payable if the claim proceeds to a hearing.
More complex claims such as those for unfair dismissal or discrimination attracted issue fees of £250 and hearing fees of £950.
As an employee, understanding the law can be hugely daunting during what is often already a very stressful time. Whatever the position you find yourself in, whether it relates to discrimination, unfair dismissal, workplace disputes or any other employment related issues, our specialist employment law team can help.
To find out more or to discuss your circumstances further, contact us for free on 0800 1979 345 or complete our online enquiry form.
This website privacy notice sets out how Thorneycroft Solicitors uses and protects any information that you give Thorneycroft Solicitors when you use this website.
Thorneycroft Solicitors is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
Thorneycroft Solicitors may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 01/05/2018.
What we collect
We may collect the following information:
We will collect the information directly from you via completion of our enquiry form on the website.
What we do with the information we gather
We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
We will also collect and process your personal data if you have consented to receiving marketing in respect of our services. You are able to unsubscribe or withdraw your consent at any time by emailing [email protected] or writing to ‘Marketing’ at Thorneycroft Solicitors, 9a Bridge Street Mills, Bridge Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 6QA.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Retention
If you do not instruct us in relation to your legal matter, your personal details will be retained for a period of 12 months.
If we are instructed in relation to your legal matter, we will keep it in line with our data retention periods. Details of our retention period for your legal matter can be found within our Client Care Letter and/or Terms of Business, under the heading file retention.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Your Rights
Google AdWords
This website uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third party websites (including Google) to previous visitors to our site. It could mean that we advertise to previous visitors who haven’t completed a task on our site, for example using the contact form to make an enquiry. This could be in the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page, or a site in the Google Display Network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the website. Of course, any data collected will be used in accordance with our own privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy.
You can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Preferences page, and if you want to you can opt out of interest-based advertising entirely by cookie settings or permanently using a browser plugin.
×