MoJ publishes consultation on fees for bringing employment tribunal claims

The Ministry of Justice has published details of its plans for introducing fees for claims brought to employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

Under the proposals, claimants would be required to pay for bringing claims to the tribunal, although the fees would ultimately be paid by the losing party. There are two options open for consultation:

Option 1

For a single claim, claimants would be charged a fee of between £150 and £250 (depending on the level of complexity) to lodge a claim and a further £250 - £1250 if that claim reaches a hearing. Further fees would be chargeable for additional demands on the tribunal service, such as:

• Request for written reasons (£100-£250; paid by claimant)
• Review application (£100-£350; paid by claimant)
• Dismissal of case after settlement or withdrawal (£60; paid by respondent)
• Set aside default judgment (£100; paid by respondent)
• Counter-claim (£150; paid by respondent)
• Mediation by judiciary (£750; paid by respondent)

If adopted, this would apply from 2013.

Option 2

Rather than splitting the fees for issuing a claim and requesting a hearing, a single fee of between £200 and £600 for claims under £30,000 depending on the perceived complexity of the claim and £1750 for larger claims, to be paid by the claimant. This would cover both costs of issuing proceedings and the cost of a hearing.

Further fees would be chargeable for additional services.

If adopted, this would apply from 2014.

Whichever proposal is adopted, for claims to the EAT, the fees payable by the appellant would be a £400 issue fee and a £1250 hearing fee.

The MoJ said: “The aim of these proposals is reduce the taxpayer subsidy of these tribunals by transferring some of the cost to those who use the the service, while protecting access to justice for the most vulnerable.”

Jonathan Djanogly, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, said: “Though the vast majority of awards in employment tribunals are relatively modest (the median award is £5000) business tells us that the fear of high awards being made against them creates uncertainty and can put them off taking on new staff. Litigation lightly entered into is also often not ultimately in the best interests of claimants, as people can find themselves bogged down in lengthy and emotionally draining proceedings.”

The consultation can be downloaded here.