24 July 2013

Public service union Unison plans to renew its legal challenge over the introduction of Employment Tribunal (ET) fees, and a Scottish court has instructed the government to pay back all ET charges if they are found to be illegal.

Unison applied for a Judicial Review over ET fees last month, but late yesterday (23 July 2013) it was refused on paper without a hearing.

General Secretary Dave Prentis described the decision as "disappointing" but stated that Unison remains "committed" to taking the government to task over the "unjust and discriminatory" fees and to try to prevent them ever being introduced.

ET fees are timetabled to come into effect on 29 July, but Unison is applying for a stay on their implementation until a decision has been reached in its case against the government. It is also renewing its application for a Judicial Review, seeking an oral hearing.

Elsewhere, there has been some good news in a similar fight against ET fees lead by Fox and Partners law firm in Scotland. The Lord Chancellor gave a legally-binding undertaking to the Court, stating that if ET fees are found to be unlawful, any fees that have already been charged to claimants must be repaid by the government in full. Fox and Partners' Judicial Review hearing will take place later this year.

Prentis said: "We believe that the government should not put a price on justice and stop working people from exercising their employment rights."

ET fees and other proposals brought by the government to reduce workers' access to justice are currently a major issue and one of the biggest recent attacks on employment rights in the UK. The Institute of Employment Rights has therefore focused on the forthcoming changes and those that have already been imposed, including ET fees, a reduction in collective redundancy rights and alterations to the tribunal process that work against employees. Our experts' critical analysis and in-depth debate over the myriad changes that have been brought in – or are due to be instated – is available in two low-cost publications: Justice deferred: a critical guide to the Coalition's employment tribunal reforms; and Access to justice in employment disputes: surveying the terrain.