Employment Tribunal fees to be introduced
Full hearing will cost £1200 from summer 2013
From summer 2013, claimants who want to take an unfair dismissal, equal pay or discrimination case to a full hearing (known as level 2) will have to pay a fee of £1200, payable in advance. This will consist of £250 when the claim is lodged and £950 when the hearing begins.
Claims for unpaid wages or redundancy pay, which are administratively relatively simple and are known as level 1 claims, will cost £390 in total, made up of an initial fee of £160 and £230 if the hearing goes ahead.
Another alternative is that the claimant can utilize mediation from a judge, rather than lodging a full claim. At a reduced fee of £600 the government is keen to push this option.
The same remission system which already exists for civil court users will apply to employment tribunals. The remission system assesses people’s ability to pay fees. This means that fees can be fully or partially waived for those on low incomes.
The tribunal will also have the power to order the unsuccessful party to reimburse the fee to the successful party.
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