Unison fights on with permission to challenge fees

Employment lawyers have welcomed a High Court decision to support recently-introduced employment tribunal and employment appeal tribunal fees.

Trade union Unison challenged the Government’s decision to introduce the fees in court, arguing they would bar workers treated unfairly by employers from accessing justice.

Unison argued that since the fees were introduced, the number of employment cases had fallen sharply. It presented research suggesting Equality Act discrimination claims had fallen by 88% between September 2012 and September 2013. 

In the same period, Unision suggested sex discrimination claims had fallen by 86% and unfair dismissal claims by 81%.

Despite these findings, the High Court ruled it was too soon to judge if the fees would have a negative impact following their introduction in July 2013.