Fees for Workplace Discrimination Claims Declared Unlawful

The UK’s highest court has ruled that employment tribunal fees introduced by the Government in 2013 are illegal. The fees were required for a wide range of employment law claims, including for pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

Legal challenge made by trade union UNISON

The groundbreaking decision centred on the fact that the introduction of the tribunal fees four years ago, which required employees to pay up to £1,200 to bring a claim against their employers, was not only illegal but should be stopped immediately. The Government now must pay around £30m back to workers who paid these fees.

The Supreme Court ruled that the fees prevented employees from being able to access justice, were discriminatory, especially against women and other protected groups, and were in breach of both EU and UK law.

The charges which employees were forced to pay ranged from £390 to £1,200 depending on how complex the case was. Consequently, cases involving discrimination were the most expensive as they are the most complicated.

Before 2013, it was free for any worker to lodge a new legal claim against their employer. The fees were introduced as a way to contribute to the cost of the court services and to limit illegitimate claims being brought. However, UNISON and other trade unions said the fees in actual fact prevented people with genuine claims of discrimination and other unfair treatment from seeking justice.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that in 2012/13, the year before the fees were introduced, the number of cases brought forward was 191,541, while in 2016/17 only 88,476 claims were brought. Lord Reed, who delivered the decision, said the Court had concluded that the fees “resulted in such a substantial and sustained fall in the number of claims being brought that it points to the conclusion that a significant number of people have found the fees unaffordable”. Lord Reed added that the Court had decided to cancel the fees order, and that the fees which workers had already paid since 2013 were to be reimbursed by the Government.

Last year the House of Commons Justice Committee published a report which recommended that the fees charged for bringing employment cases should be reduced substantially, and that there should be special consideration given to women who make claims to do with maternity or pregnancy discrimination.

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