19 July 2013

Unison's judicial review against the government's new Employment Tribunal fees may push the date of their implementation back from 29 July 2013.

The union's case is the second the government faces, with another judicial review brought against the Ministry of Justice by law firm Fox and Partners at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Unison has announced that a judge has decided to try and fast-track the hearing of the case to before the implementation date of ET fees on 29 July, and has promised the union will be told whether or not they can go ahead by 22 July.

It is also possible that the implementation of the government's plans would be postponed until the hearing has finished and the decision over whether the fees are legal is known.

"This is vital because these charges are a blatant attempt to stop working people from exercising their employment rights. It will give unscrupulous employers the green light to ride roughshod over employees’ already very basic, rights at work," General Secretary of Unison Dave Prentis said.