Expert hails court ruling on tribunals

Arecent landmark Supreme Court ruling that employment tribunal fees are unlawful has been welcomed by a leading Tayside lawyer.

Employment law expert Alan Matthew from Miller Hendry, which has branches in Dundee, Perth and Crieff, hailed the unanimous decision against the UK Government as “one of the most important in employment law in the modern era”.

The UK Government will now have to refund up to £32 million to claimants, after trade union Unison argued successfully that fees introduced in 2013 prevented workers accessing justice.

The Supreme Court ruled the government acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally when it introduced the charges of between £390 and £1,200 in 2013 in a bid to reduce the number of malicious and weak cases.

The introduction of fees in 2013 saw a massive, 81% drop in tribunal claims in the last quarter of 2013-14 and the UK Government was accused of preventing access to justice because the high charges made claims unaffordable for many workers in Scotland, England and Wales.

The Ministry of Justice said it would take immediate steps to stop charging and refund payments.

Mr Matthew has publicly lobbied for a rethink on employment tribunal charges since 2013, strongly supporting the right of employees to access justice.

He said: “When fees were introduced they had the fairly immediate effect of creating a financial barrier to proceeding with a claim for those wishing to take their employer to tribunal.

“While this was good news for employers, who faced significantly less litigation and costs, the balance of power in the employment relationship was affected, and not for the better.

“A significant number of people found these fees unaffordable and this latest judgment has helped restore that principle of employment rights for all, including the lower-paid.

“However, now that the charges have been scrapped employers, will have to brace themselves for a large increase in such claims.”

Following July’s Supreme Court ruling, it has since emerged that people deterred previously from bringing tribunal cases because of the prohibitive cost might be able to make a claim.

Unison said those with claims rejected because they had not paid the fee could write to the tribunal to say it was no longer required.

This advice appears to have been further supported by a recent move to lift a Case Management Order staying cases in Scotland until the matter was fully resolved.

Judge Shona Simon, president of the Employment Tribunals in Scotland, issued the order in July covering cases rejected because of a failure to pay fees. However, that stay has now been lifted.

It states: “All applications for reimbursement of fees, or for the reinstatement of claims rejected or dismissed for non-payment of fees, shall be made in accordance with administrative arrangements to be announced by the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS shortly (see paras 3 and 4 of the orders).

“Any other (judicial, as opposed to administrative) matters arising from the Unison decision are no longer subject to any stay, and fall to be considered judicially in the normal way (see paras 5 and 6 of the Orders).”

Mr Matthew added: “This Supreme Court’s ruling will have major implications UK-wide, not just for employers and workers across all sectors but for the legal system and the government as well.

“In the meantime I would advise anyone seeking to pursue an employment tribunal claim against an employer to seek legal advice on this matter as soon as possible.”

Visit www.millerhendrysolicitors.co.uk for further advice or information concerning employment law or other legal issues.