Government launches proposed tribunal fees
15 December 2011
The Government has announced plans to charge people to bring a claim to an employment tribunal, suggesting fees of between £150 and £1,750.
In a statement, Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly (pictured) outlined two options for the fees which will be consulted upon:
- An initial fee of between £150 and £250 for a claimant to begin a claim, with an additional fee of between £250 and £1250 if the claim goes to a hearing, with no limit to the maximum award.
- A single fee of between £200 and £600 – but this would limit the maximum award to £30,000 - with the option of an additional fee of £1,750 for those who seek awards above this amount.
In both options, the tribunal would be given the power to order the unsuccessful party to reimburse fees paid by the successful party.
The Government statement said that there were 218,100 claims to employment tribunals in 2010-11, a 44% increase on 2008-09. The cost to the taxpayer rose from £77.8 million to £84 million over the same period.
The consultation will close in March 2012.