The Supreme Court yesterday, in a unanimous Judgment, held that Employment Tribunal Fees introduced in 2013 are unlawful. The essential finding was that the level of fees and the manner in which they were structured was unjustified since they effectively denied claimants access to justice.
Fees have been abolished with immediate effect, and Employment Tribunals are no longer requiring any claimant to pay a fee. It also seems likely that claimants who have previously paid fees will be able to recoup them. There was a 70% drop in the number of claims when the fees were introduced so it is reasonable to assume that there will be a substantial increase in the number of claims now that fees have been quashed.
It remains to be seen whether the Government will seek to introduce a less onerous fee regime but in the meantime employment tribunal claims will once again be free to claimants. The full judgment of the Supreme Court can be found at:
https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2015-0233-judgment.pdf