Lawyers Reveal Concerns About System ‘Preventing People From Seeking Justice’

The Government’s announcement of a full review into the impact of employment tribunal fees has been welcomed by specialist employment lawyers, who have reiterated concerns that their introduction is preventing people with genuine issues from seeking justice.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed it is reviewing the introduction of tribunal fees in July 2013 to examine whether the changes have met the original objectives of improving efficiency, encouraging the use of alternative dispute resolution and transferring costs from the taxpayer to those who use the service.

Expected to be completed later this year, the review will consider a range of evidence including data on case volumes, research on the views of court and tribunal users and any consequences as a result of other changes in employment law.

The review will also look at the effectiveness of the fee remission scheme introduced in October 2013.

Following the announcement, specialist employment lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have said there will be a range of factors that the government must consider when reviewing the fees.

Expert Opinion

"Since the introduction of the fees system, it has been clear that tribunal claims have dramatically declined. <br/> <br/>"Both research and our own experience has suggested that much of this is as a result of the level of fees ultimately deterring people from bringing cases. While there is an argument that this is a positive step forward to avoid spurious claims, we have seen that this is impacting on people with valid claims. <br/> <br/>"In such cases, people can genuinely not afford the fees or are ultimately unwilling to risk losing the fees. <br/> <br/>"With this in mind, it is important the Government take a thorough approach to the review to ensure that the fact that some people are facing access to justice issues is not ignored."