14 March 2014: From July 2013 Claimants have been obliged to pay a fee in the majority of cases of £250 to submit a claim in the Employment Tribunal and £950 before a full hearing.
Although Claimants can seek remission from those fees, this has led to a drop off the number of claims being brought. Quite how much of a drop-off in Tribunal claims has been brought home this week by Ministry of Justice figures which show a 79% drop-off in Tribunal claims in October to December 2012.
Although the MoJ suggest treating these figures with ‘extreme caution’, the data still suggests a severe reduction in claims. Many employers will welcome these figures as an indication that many claims with little merit are not getting being brought in the first place. Others will worry that many Claimants are being put off by the baffling remissions system and anticipate that the Tribunal .
However from the 6th April 2014 the will be a compulsory 1 month ACAS consultation period before a claim can be issued by the Tribunal. There may be an increase in the number of claims from that date, with Claimants making use of the ACAS conciliation period before deciding whether to pay the fee and pursue the claim.
See the MoJ report. See our earlier posting on Tribunal fees.
We are solicitors advising on employment Tribunal claims, employment claims and settlement agreements