Supreme Court overturns government’s employment tribunal fees regime

The Supreme Court has ruled that the government acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally by introducing fees of up to £1,200 for those bringing claims to an employment tribunal.

The fees were introduced in 2013, ostensibly to discourage malicious claims, but their real (and likely intended) impact was to curb the ability of ordinary members of the public to exercise their legal rights against age, race or sex discrimination in the workplace, for the reason that some in government and business find the exercising of such rights commercially inconvenient. In the years that the fees were in operation, the number of employment tribunal claims decreased by 79%, showing that large numbers of people with meritorious cases were being prevented from accessing justice.

The trade union, Unison, challenged the legality of the fees in the courts and the Supreme Court agreed with its case. The government has now said that it will immediately abolish employment tribunal fees and begin the process of refunding all those members of the public who have been charged unlawfully over the last few years.  

The judgment has been welcomed by many in the legal profession, including the Bar Council. A Bar Council spokesperson said: “This decision from the Supreme Court is welcome to all who believe in the fundamental importance of the rule of law. There are broad and encouraging implications for those of us that believe in the case for increasing access to justice in our society. The decision makes it clear that in order for the courts to perform their role of ensuring the law is applied and enforced, people must have unimpeded access to the them. Charging fees which deter or prevent access is unlawful, and undermines the government of society by the rule of law. In addition, and specifically, we welcome the fact that in relation to issues that arise in the work place, the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of giving people who face age, sex or race discrimination the right to challenge their employer without being deterred by high tribunal fees.”

Speaking for the government, justice minister Dominic Raab said: "We respect the judgement and we are going to take it fully on board and we are going to comply with it."