Government rejects calls to reduce employment tribunal fees despite admitting that fees discourage public from making claims

The government has rejected calls from lawyers and firms to lower employment tribunal fees, which have caused a huge drop in the number of employment tribunal cases being brought since their introduction in 2013.

The House of Commons Justice Committee, a cross-party group of MPs, called for employment tribunal fees to be reduced in June, on the evidence that fees at their current levels are barring access to justice for people on low incomes. In conjunction with the Justice Committee’s review, the Law Society has been asking the government to reconsider the level at which it sets fees. But although the government has itself admitted that the introduction of fees has discouraged people from bringing claims to employment tribunal and that the drop in the number of cases has been far greater than expected, it has nonetheless disregarded pressure to lower fee levels. The fees are designed to reduce the burden of the justice system on the taxpayer and pass some of the costs on to users, which inevitably means that more economically precarious people in the system lose out despite the government’s encouraging of more people to use ACAS’ free conciliation service in place of tribunals. The fees – which discourage the bringing of claims against employers and reduce costs – are therefore consistent with Conservative governance principles, which traditionally prioritise the interests of business and wealthier members of society.

Robert Bourns, president of the Law Society, commented: "The truth is employment tribunal fees have had a chilling effect on the number of people able or willing to bring a case against their employer. Particularly affected are claims in areas such as sexual discrimination and equal pay – and the reduction in tribunal cases is not offset by the increase in people using ACAS' early conciliation service. Solicitors working in this area also report that the reduced number of claims has altered the behaviour of employers and we will address this concern in our consultation response. No matter who you are, everyone in England and Wales must be able to access the justice system. It is a public good which should not be used to generate revenue. If these fundamental principles are not followed, we risk squandering years of progress and damaging the reputation of England and Wales as one of the fairest justice systems in the world."